What do Australian commerce and tourism insiders make of Albanese's go to to China?

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Key Factors

An Australian lobster exporter says she believes that PM Albanese’s journey to China was a ‘good and constructive signal’ for individuals like her.
A tourism trade professional stated it will take a while to woo Chinese language vacationers to Australia.
Mr Albanese described the assembly with President Xi as ‘very constructive’ and ‘constructive’.

As the primary Australian Prime Minister to go to China since 2016, Anthony Albanese’s four-day go to to China involves an finish right now.

On Monday morning, Mr Albanese visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, a historic website that former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, set foot on 50 years in the past as the primary Australian chief to ever go to the Folks’s Republic of China.

Mr Albanese met China’s President Xi Jinping within the Nice Corridor of the Folks in Beijing that night with a heat handshake, his first assembly with the President on Chinese language soil.

Mr Albanese’s journey in China has obtained widespread consideration, with a video of him going for a morning run on the Bund in Shanghai going viral on Chinese language social media.

Many see this as an indication that Australia-China relations are shifting in a constructive path.

Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam visited Beijing’s Temple of Heaven in 1973 (L), and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited on November 6, 2023 (R). Credit score: Nationwide Archives of Australia/AAP

Lobster exporter: ‘good and constructive signal’

On the second day of Mr Albanese’s go to (5 November), he attended the China Worldwide Import Expo in Shanghai, calling on China to take away tariffs on Australian items.

Yuki Huang, a seafood exporter from Oscar Tasmanian Seafood, is among the roughly 250 Australian companies showcased at this yr’s Shanghai Expo.

She informed SBS Chinese language that she was very blissful to fulfill the PM on the Expo, which she believes is a “good and constructive signal” for businesspeople like her concerned in worldwide commerce between Australia and China.

“Frozen lobsters from Australia are at the moment allowed to be exported to the Chinese language market, however dwell ones are within the means of being negotiated,” Ms Huang stated.

After commerce in dwell lobster between Australia and China stalled in 2020, Australian lobster exports plummeted from $750 million in 2018/19 to $380 million in 2020/21.

We hope that the Australian PM’s go to to China will deliver additional constructive developments not solely in seafood (export), but in addition in wine, honey, beef and lamb.

Yuki Huang, Australian lobster exporter

Australian lobster exporter Yuki Huang (R) says she believes that PM Albanese’s journey to China is a ‘good and constructive signal’ for Australia-China businesspeople like her. Credit score: Yuki Huang

Ms Huang stated the reintroduction of Australian dwell lobsters within the Chinese language market was not solely excellent news for Chinese language customers but in addition for lobster fishers in Australia.

“They’ve labored arduous all their lives fishing, they usually’re determined to get their lobster or different seafood exports again to pre-outbreak ranges,” she stated.

However in addition they perceive that it is a course of that takes time. And we don’t know when it’s going to occur.

Yuki Huang

China is Australia’s largest buying and selling accomplice, with bilateral commerce reaching over $280 billion in 2021/22, in keeping with .

Nevertheless, it was on the top of the diplomatic dispute in 2020 that China imposed a $20 billion commerce ban on Australia.

The sanctions have now been diminished to $2 billion and the Chinese language authorities is conducting a five-month evaluation of the $1.2 billion ban on Australian wine exports.

Tourism: deliver Australian vacationers to China

Past worldwide commerce, some count on the PM’s first journey to China in seven years to place Australia again on the map for Chinese language vacationers.

Jun Wen, a lecturer in Tourism and Service Advertising and marketing at Edith Cowan College, stated he believed that this go to would ‘make good impacts’ on the Australian tourism trade by wooing extra Chinese language vacationers to Australia.

However he additionally anticipated that it may deliver extra Australian guests to China.

“If we wish to develop the mutual promotion of the tourism trade between the 2 international locations, it should be bilateral, unilateral improvement isn’t sustainable,” he stated.

We hope they may also talk about learn how to welcome Australian vacationers to China and allow them to higher perceive the native cultures.

Yun Wen, a lecturer in Tourism and Service Advertising and marketing at Edith Cowan College

Though Mr Wen is constructive in regards to the PM’s go to, he stated the restoration of Australia’s tourism trade can be a protracted course of and he didn’t count on to see a major rise within the variety of Chinese language vacationers inside this yr.

exhibits that the variety of vacationers in Australia from mainland China (379,000) by the top of August 2023 has solely recovered to 26.5 per cent of its 2018/19 stage (1.43 million).

ABS information means that fewer Chinese language vacationers have visited Australia in 2023 than in 2019. Supply: AAP

The restricted variety of direct flights and Australia’s shrinking native tourism service trade are each obstacles to reviving Australia’s tourism trade, in keeping with Mr Wen.

For instance, direct flights from Perth to China haven’t but resumed, and guests from mainland China wanted to spend further prices to transit, which may change the journey plans of some vacationers, Mr Wen added.

He stated that Australian native tourism service suppliers additionally wanted to remodel their enterprise plans and recruit new workers after the recessionary interval earlier than on the brink of welcome the inflow of abroad guests.

“There have been many journey companies (in Perth) specializing in the Chinese language market, however a few of them haven’t but resumed their clientele after the pandemic,” he stated.

Relations are on the ‘the appropriate path’

Mr Albanese met with Mr Xi on Monday evening in Beijing, the primary time the 2 leaders have met since final yr’s G20.

Mr Xi stated Mr Albanese’s go to opened a brand new chapter within the 50-year historical past of Australia-China relations, which have been on “the appropriate path to bettering and growing relations”.

Two men in suits smiling in front of Australian and Chinese flags

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held talks with China’s President Xi Jinping. Supply: AAP / Lukas Coch

At a press convention after the assembly, Mr Albanese described the dialog as “very constructive” and “constructive”.

The assembly went for over an hour, which was longer than it was scheduled. And I believe that displays the very constructive engagement that occurred.

Anthony Albanese

“I invited President Xi to Australia at a mutually useful time to be agreed on. He invited me again to China at a future time as nicely,” Mr Albanese informed reporters in Beijing.

Earlier on Monday, when requested if he trusted the Chinese language chief, Mr Albanese replied that Mr Xi at all times does what he stated he would.

“He has by no means stated something to me that hasn’t been accomplished,” he stated. “However we take care of one another on face worth.”

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