
How deals are trumping port dispute on Australian PM's China visit
The deals include the potential widening of access to the Chinese market for Australian farm produce and coal, cooperation in the digitalisation of the financial sector, investment in greenfield projects and potential tariff cuts for Australian agricultural exports, according to a source with knowledge of their content.
There has been no mention of any discussion on the future of Darwin Port, which the Australian government wants to take back from a Chinese company on national security grounds, with the source saying the two sides had decided to step back from the controversy.
Albanese's visit, which has included meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, began in Shanghai on Saturday and will end on Friday, with details of the deals expected to be released after it is wrapped up.
According to an official readout from Xinhua, Li raised Australian scrutiny of Chinese investments in two hours of talks with Albanese on Tuesday, asking for 'a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment' for Chinese investors.
Li did not explicitly mention Darwin Port.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
9 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
How did a chocolate pie offend middle-class sensibilities of Sam's Club members in China?
Sam's Club, the US membership-only bulk retailer owned by Walmart, has long been seen as one of the foreign supermarkets most attuned to the needs of China's middle class. Each year, millions of urban Chinese families pay a 260 yuan (US$36.28) annual fee in exchange for what they see as access to a globally curated, quality lifestyle - featuring products like Scotch whisky, Chilean dried prunes, and chilled beef from the United States and Australia. That selection has come to symbolise a middle-class sensibility attuned to globally focused consumption. But that premium image was shaken recently when Sam's Club stores in China began stocking a domestically made chocolate pie - priced at 49.9 yuan for a pack of 48 – touching a nerve among its loyal membership base. Well-known for its low price, the pie in question is often found in neighbourhood convenience stores or corner shops in China. But it falls short of what many health-conscious, quality-driven Chinese middle-class shoppers consider 'decent' or 'premium'. Wendy Liu, a Shenzhen-based operations director at a foreign firm and a Sam's Club premium member who pays 600 yuan a year for the privilege, said her trust in the brand was eroding. 'This chocolate pie is just the trigger,' she said. 'The real concern is that Sam's standards for supplier quality may be slipping.'


South China Morning Post
39 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
John Lee vows to make Hong Kong ‘preferred destination' after 12% surge in tourists
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to adopt innovative thinking to make the city a 'preferred travel destination', following a 12 per cent increase in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year. Latest figures by the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed that the city welcomed about 3.48 million visitors in June, bringing the total number from January to June to more than 23.6 million, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase. Three-quarters of the arrivals, or 17.8 million, came from mainland China. The board said on Saturday that about 5.84 million visitors arrived from the rest of the world, marking a 17 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. 'Visitors from most short-haul markets, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, increased by at least 25 per cent year on year,' it said. 'Among long-haul markets, Australia recorded a notable growth of 33 per cent year on year.' In a Facebook post, Lee attributed the tourism boom partly to a string of arts, cultural and sports mega-events. He also pointed to the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park, the city's newest hub for world-class concerts and sporting events.


South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China calls for global AI centre to reverse ‘fragmented trend' as US tech rivalry deepens
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for the establishment of an international centre to better coordinate global cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) and address the current 'fragmented trend'. The move comes as China looks to expand its influence in the new but rapidly evolving sector amid a bitter tech competition with the United States. Opening the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Saturday, Li said: 'Currently, global AI governance is showing a fragmented trend overall, particularly with significant differences among nations in regulatory approaches, institutional frameworks and rules. 'We should enhance coordination and alignment to establish a widely accepted global governance framework for AI at an early date.' Top AI scholars as well as industrial representatives from China and around the world are attending the three-day event in the Chinese financial and commercial capital. Li's proposal comes days after the US announced its own blueprint on AI development. The White House policy framework released on Wednesday aims to bolster American AI dominance through deregulation, infrastructure investment and expanding AI exports to allies in the technological arms race with China, described by President Donald Trump as a fight that will define the 21st century.