Anthony Albanese’s China visit: Prime Minister set to travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu from Saturday

Anthony Albanese has confirmed his visit to China from Saturday, when he is heading to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

The Prime Minister will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang for the annual bilateral leaders’ dialogue during the trip that will span nearly a week.

He’ll also meet Chairman Zhao Leji of the National People’s Congress.

Trade will be high on the agenda, with these meetings the first since China lifted its final barriers on Australian exports.

The ban on Australian lobsters was lifted in December.

“China’s an important trading partner for Australia – 25 per cent of our exports go to China. What that means is jobs, and one of the things that my government prioritises is jobs,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.

“What we have done is to get rid of the more than $20 billion of impediments on goods that were stopped from going to China.

“It’s made an enormous difference … products like wine and barley have not just bounced back, they’ve bounced back higher than they were before.”

This will be the fourth time Mr Albanese has met Mr Xi, and his second visit to China.

The leaders will also canvass global and regional security issues, along with bilateral cooperation on tourism.

“We will continue to patiently and deliberately work towards a stable relationship with China, with dialogue at its core,” Mr Albanese said.

In Shanghai and Chengdu, Mr Albanese will meet business, tourism and sport representatives.

A delegation of 14 business representatives will also travel to China for an annual roundtable meeting, jointly hosted by the Business Council of Australia and the China Development Bank, with Chinese counterparts, Mr Albanese and Mr Li.

The group attending includes resources sector heavyweights from Rio Tinto, BHP, BlueScope and Fortescue.

Last year, the business roundtable was held in Perth to coincide with Mr Li’s visit to WA.

BCA chief executive Bran Black said it was a crucial forum in which to build an even stronger relationship with Australia’s largest economic partner, particularly in the resources, energy and services sectors.

The talks come as uncertainty continues around US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US President has publicly issued letters he has sent to several countries, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa and Serbia, informing them he will lift the rate of tariffs imposed on them from 10 per cent to a “reciprocal” level from August 1.

Australia, which has a trade surplus with the US, does not expect to be hit with anything higher than the 10 per cent base rate.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, this week called for Australia to expand its trade deal with his country to include greater cooperation on artificial intelligence.

Mr Albanese brushed off questions about his approach to this, saying Australia would determine its own policy.

Australia is working with the US and UK to cooperate on developing AI and advanced military capabilities as part of AUKUS Pillar II.