Pandas, tennis and a tour of the Great Wall: Anthony Albanese hits back at claims his China trip was 'indulgent'
The prime minister's itinerary has included retracing the steps of Gough Whitlam on the Great Wall of China, attending a tennis tournament and visiting a panda research centre in the southwestern city of Chengdu.
Back home, the optics of visiting popular tourist sites attracted sniping from the Opposition.
Coalition frontbencher James Paterson suggested the prime minister was enjoying himself too much.
'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 told Sky News on Thursday.
'And frankly, I have to say that some of this is starting to look a little bit indulgent.'
Mr Albanese has himself been eager to draw links between his tour and those of former Labor prime ministers Whitlam and Bob Hawke, who also visited the giant pandas in 1986.
What those and his visits achieved was building respect between Australia and China, which would in turn result in better economic and diplomatic outcomes, the PM said.
'Those pictures go to 27 million people, potentially, in Australia. They go to over a billion people in China,' Mr Albanese told reporters in Chengdu.
'And those billion people represent people who are increasingly rising up the income ladder and are potential tourists and therefore job creators in Australia.
'If James Patterson doesn't understand that, then he doesn't understand much.
'The Great Wall of China symbolises the extraordinary history and culture here in China, and showing a bit of respect to people never cost anything. You know what it does, it gives you a reward.'
Mr Albanese's trip has been shorter on concrete outcomes than in previous years, when his resumption of dialogue with China saw $20 billion worth of Chinese trade sanctions lifted from Australian exports.
But the welcome has been warmer and coverage from Chinese state media more effusive than at any time since before the breakdown in Sino-Australian relations in 2020.
A few agreements to boost trade and tourism links have been reached.
But the increased dialogue and co-operation in areas from green steel to medical technology were part of a gradual improvement in relations that would advance Australia's national interests, Mr Albanese said.
'You don't go from a position of where we were into absolute agreement on everything. That's not the goal.'
Despite the improving mood, China and Australia still have many issues they disagree on.
In meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, Mr Albanese raised concerns over China not providing advance notice of naval live-fire drills off Australia that forced commercial flights to divert.
Meanwhile, Mr Li has voiced his dismay over Australia's stringent restrictions on foreign investment from China, imploring the Australian government not to treat Chinese firms unfairly.
'We have different political systems, but it has been constructive and has been an important step in the developing of our relationship,' Mr Albanese said.
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