Sussan Ley says Anthony Albanese needs to do more to call out Chinese navy for circumnavigating Australia
Ms Ley said Australia wanted a 'respectful relationship' with China, but said the Prime Mininster needed to 'hold his ground'.
'We wish the Prime Minister well on his visit to China, and of course we want to see more trade and tourism,' she told Today on Thursday.
'I am disappointed that there wasn't an assurance that we wouldn't have a repeat of circumnavigation of our coastline, live firing, civilian aircraft having to be diverted out of that airspace.
'It's not good enough. We want a strong, respectful relationship, but that respect has to cut both ways.
'It's important to demand that accountability, it is important in those government-to-government conversations that the Prime Minister holds his ground.'
Mr Albanese raised the February circumnavigation and live-firing exercise with President Xi during his trip to China this week.
'I said what I said at the time, which was that it was within international law … but that we were concerned about the notice and the way that it happened, including the live-fire exercises,' Mr Albanese said.
'In response, of course, President Xi said that China engaged in exercises just as Australia engages in exercises.'
Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday repeated it was crucial China acted in accordance with international law.
'It is much more the case that the Royal Australian Navy is in the vicinity of China than the Chinese Navy is in the vicinity of Australia,' he told the ABC.
'We're not trying to establish some standard in the vicinity of Australia which would impede our work with the Royal Australian Navy in the vicinity of China, which is actually much more the case.
'We're not there gratuitously; we're there because that's where our sea lines of communication are.
'That's where we need to be asserting rules based order and freedom of navigation.
'It is really important that the Royal Australian Navy is able to continue its work there, so what we seek is that China . . . acts in accordance with international law.'
But Mr Ley took aim at Mr Marles, saying it was not his job to make excuses for China.
'Richard Marles' job is not to make excuses for the Chinese Communist Party, but to actually hold them to account,' she said.
Opposition spokesman James Paterson echoed Ms Ley, saying it was 'troubling' to see President Xi had played down Australia's concerns about his flotilla's journey.
'I'm pleased the Prime Minister raised it, but it is troubling to see that President Xi was dismissive about this, and that the People's Liberation Army Navy can be expected to conduct more live-firing exercises like this in the future in our region without notice, just like it does around the Philippines Vietnam ... or Taiwan,' he told told Sky News.
'We've seen really significant escalation of military exercises around Taiwan in a way that should be troubling to all Australians because what we believe in is the preservation of the peaceful status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
'It is critically important that the Prime Minister, I hope, has used the opportunity of meeting with China's leaders during this visit to reaffirm that with absolute clarity and unambiguously.'
Mr Paterson also claimed Mr Albanese's trip to China, which included retracing Gough Whitlam's steps at the Great Wall, was starting to look 'a little bit indulgent'.
'I do wonder whether a Gough Whitlam history tour on the Great Wall of China, whether a visit to Chengdu to pose with some pandas, and whether a hit of tennis is strictly necessary as part of a six-day visit to China, when there is so much else at stake in our other international relationships around the world,' he said.
'And frankly, I have to say that some of this is starting to look a little bit indulgent.'
Mr Albanese's trip has been centred on repairing business and trade ties after a diplomatic spat under the Morrison government triggered a series of damaging import bans on key commodities, which have since been lifted.
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China's top leaders have pledged to help companies slammed by higher US tariffs but are holding back on major moves after trade talks with the US kept businesses and planners in limbo. At their summer economic planning meeting, the powerful politburo of the ruling Communist Party pledged to stabilise foreign trade and investment. "We must assist foreign trade enterprises that have been severely impacted, strengthen financing support, and promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade," the official Xinhua News Agency said in reporting the closed-door meeting on Wednesday. It mentioned export tax rebates and free trade pilot zones but gave no other specifics. The inconclusive outcome of two days of trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden, leaves open the question of higher tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng said the two sides had agreed to work on extending a deadline for higher tariffs. The US side said the extension was discussed, but not decided. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after the talks that President Donald Trump would decide whether to extend the August 12 deadline for an agreement or to let tariffs that have been paused for 90 days return to a higher level. "We haven't given the sign-off," Bessent said, though he emphasised that the talks had been "very constructive". China remains one of the biggest challenges for the Trump administration after it has struck deals over elevated tariff rates with other key trading partners, including Britain, Japan and the European Union. Many analysts had expected the Stockholm talks to result in an extension of current tariff levels, which stand at a US tariff of 30 per cent on Chinese goods and a Chinese tariff of 10 per cent on US products, far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates raised in April. The truce in the tariffs war to allow time for talks allowed exporters and other traders to ramp up shipments in hopes of beating any higher tariffs that might follow. The meeting headed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping mostly reiterated Beijing's priorities for the year, including a need to "unleash domestic demand", which has lagged, leading to a surge of exports by industries unable to find growth at home. It also stressed the need to promote jobs and prevent a "large-scale relapse into poverty". The economy "has demonstrated strong vitality and resilience", the Xinhua report said, but it acknowledged many risks and challenges. That includes reining in brutal competition that has led to damaging price wars among auto makers and some other manufacturers and managing excess capacity in some industries, it said. China's economy expanded at a 5.2 per cent annual pace in April-June, slowing slightly from the previous quarter. Even with the hiatus in higher tariffs, companies are feeling a pinch. Industrial profits in China fell 1.8 per cent in the first half of the year and 4.3 per cent in June, according to data released this week.
