Australia’s Albanese concerned about ‘clumsy’ incident between Chinese diplomats and journalist

Australia expressed concern on Tuesday about the “clumsy” actions of two Chinese diplomats at a media event, marring a high-profile visit by Premier Li Qiang to celebrate trade and friendship.

China’s second most powerful man posed in front of giant pandas, drank Australian wine and stressed the need to settle “differences” peacefully during his rare trip to Australia.

But the carefully choreographed tour briefly stalled during a signing ceremony in Australia’s parliament on Monday when two Chinese diplomats appeared to shadow well-known Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

Cheng returned to Australia in October last year after serving three years in detention in China on murky espionage charges and spoke openly about the grim conditions in her prison.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticised the “clumsy” behaviour and said on Tuesday that Australia had “reached out to the Chinese embassy to express our concerns”.

“Looking at the footage, it has to be said that this was a rather clumsy attempt by some people to put themselves between the cameras and where Cheng Lei was sitting,” he told national broadcaster ABC.

“And Australian officials intervened, as they should have done, and asked the Chinese officials present at the press conference to go away.”

The footage showed two Chinese diplomats standing next to the seated Cheng, repeatedly ignoring requests from agitated Australian officials to move.

Cheng said they “did everything they could to hide me from the cameras.”

“And I guess that’s to stop me from saying or doing anything that they think will make a bad impression,” she told Sky News Australia.

“But that alone doesn’t look good.”

Just hours earlier, Albanese had told Li in private talks that “foreign interference in Australia’s political system is unacceptable.”

Li is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Australia since 2017. His visit reflects the growing rapprochement between Beijing and Canberra after a years-long trade dispute.

“Of course, we all know that there have been some difficulties and twists and turns in our bilateral relations in recent years,” Li said before leaving Australia on Tuesday afternoon.

“But thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, bilateral relations have been put back on track.”

Premier Li concluded his visit with a tour of a Chinese-run lithium refinery in Western Australia, a sign of his country’s enormous appetite for Australia’s important minerals.

Australia produces 52 percent of the world’s lithium, the majority of which is exported to China as ore for refining and use in batteries.

It is a crucial component of China’s world-leading electric vehicle industry.

Due to China’s dominant role in global supply chains, the country’s involvement in the country’s important mineral industry is delicate.

Despite the display of goodwill, both sides acknowledged ongoing “differences” – a reference to diplomatic disputes in the Pacific.

“We will not always agree, and the points on which we disagree will not simply go away if we remain silent about them,” Albanese said.

Australia accused China of “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior last month after one of its fighter jets allegedly fired flares into the path of a naval helicopter over the Yellow Sea.

It was also reported that late last year a Chinese destroyer fired dangerous sonar pulses at naval divers.

Additional reporting from Reuters