Panda diplomacy on display as Premier Li visits Adelaide zoo

China’s second-highest ranked official says relations with Australia back on track’

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China Premier Li Qiang made a low-key start to a four-day trip to Australia on June 16, with visits to a South Australian winery and Adelaide Zoo where he announced Beijing would provide two new pandas after the current pair go home later in 2024.

Mr Li, China’s second-highest ranked official and the first Chinese premier to visit Australia in seven years, is due to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on June 17.

He arrived in the South Australia state capital late on June 15, saying bilateral relations were “back on track”.

China, Australia’s largest trade partner, imposed trade restrictions on a raft of Australian agricultural and mineral products in 2020 during a diplomatic dispute that has now largely eased.

On June 16, Mr Li’s first official stop was to visit a pair of pandas on loan from China to Adelaide’s zoo, where Australian Broadcasting Corp television showed crowds gathered, some waving Chinese flags, while others held signs that read “No more panda propaganda”.