Senator Warns CCP State Media Leveraging Albanese’s Visit for Political Gain

A Liberal senator has warned that Chinese state-run media is portraying Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “supplicant” following his six-day visit to China.

There have also been concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the visit to send misleading messages to Australia’s allies and other countries.

Albanese visited China from July 12 to 18, aiming to stabilise bilateral relations, strengthen economic ties, and address security concerns.

During his meeting with CCP leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, Albanese raised the issues of Chinese warships circumnavigating the Australian coast early this year and the imprisonment of the academic Yang Hengjun.

However, he did not receive any assurance from the communist leader on those topics.

Despite public expectations, the prime minister did not discuss the lease of the Port of Darwin or mention the United States at the meeting.

He later explained that the meeting’s focus was on China-Australia relations.

Albanese subsequently met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang to discuss the trade relationship and signed multiple Memoranda of Understanding covering topics such as a review of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, cooperation in tourism, and the export of Australian apples.

What Chinese State-Run Media Is Saying

Albanese’s trip to China was well-received by Chinese state-run media, which gave a lot of praise to the prime minister.

The Global Times, a leading English-language propaganda mouthpiece for the CCP, even compared the current China-Australia relationship under the Labor government to “a plane flying in the stratosphere.” It suggested that the “most turbulent and bumpy period” during the former Coalition government had passed.

A spotlight was also put on the length of the visit, with the mouthpiece saying it was “extraordinarily long” when compared to previous state visits by Australian leaders.

Meanwhile, state-owned television channel CCTV broadcast the message that the CCP hoped to see Australia treat Chinese companies “fairly” and relax its restrictions on foreign investment, which prevent Chinese enterprises from investing in many key sectors.

Liberal Senator’s Warning on Albanese’s Visit

On July 21, Liberal Senator Dave Sharma cautioned that the way Chinese state media framed Albanese’s visit could be concerning.

“My read of it is that Chinese state media has basically portrayed Anthony Albanese’s visit as that of a supplicant,” he told Sky News Australia.

“I don’t think that was Anthony Albanese’s intention, but that’s clearly how Chinese state media has portrayed this visit, and I don’t think that’s a good position.”

The senator also raised concerns that the CCP could seek to leverage the visit to promote its global narrative, potentially undermining Australia’s image abroad.

“I think the message that China is seeking to broadcast here is, look … allies like Australia are coming to pay fealty to Xi Jinping and recognise China’s dominance in this region, [and] other countries should get on board,” he said.

“I think it’s unfortunate that Australia, under Anthony Albanese, has allowed itself to be portrayed in that way.

“The visit, the choreography, the messaging—it does not look like Anthony Albanese took a firm set of messages just as we would expect him to do with any other country.”

Attorney-General’s Response

Meanwhile, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland defended the prime minister’s visit to China, saying it was needed to improve the relationship between the two countries.

“China is our single biggest trading partner. Our resources sector relies on that relationship,” she told Sky News.

“We will always act in the national interest, and often we will disagree, but this is important from the perspective of our trade and of stabilising that relationship, which, quite frankly, had broken down.

“This is about creating jobs and extra trade opportunities for Australia, and it’s important that we maintain this vital relationship.”