(Reuters) – Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang kicked off a four-day visit to Australia on Sunday by announcing that Beijing will provide a new pair of giant pandas to Australia’s Adelaide Zoo ahead of their return later this year. China.
China’s No. 2 official, Li Keqiang, arrived in the South Australian capital on Saturday evening and said bilateral relations were “back on track” as he embarked on a Chinese premier’s first visit to Australia in seven years.
In 2020, Australia’s largest trading partner, China, imposed restrictions on a large number of Australia’s agricultural and mineral exports during a diplomatic dispute, which has largely eased.
Li Keqiang’s first stop on Sunday was to see a pair of giant pandas on loan from China at Adelaide Zoo. with the slogan “No more promoting pandas.”
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, Li announced at the zoo that the giant pandas will return to China in November and that the zoo will select two new pandas.
According to ABC, the two giant pandas, Fu Ni and Wang Wang, have been at the zoo since 2009 but have not yet successfully bred.
Lee will next have lunch with South Australian wine exporters, which until recently had been excluded from the Chinese market due to a dispute that saw A$20 billion ($13 billion) of Australia’s agricultural and mineral exports suspended last year outside.
Earlier on Sunday, Australian Foreign Minister Wong Ying-yin said Li Keqiang’s visit was “very important” in showing the stability of relations between the two major trading partners.
“It took two years of very thoughtful and very patient work by this government to achieve the stability of the relationship,” Huang told the ABC.
Regarding giant pandas, Huang said the animals “are an important part of the lives of many Adelaide families”.
Li Keqiang will visit the capital Canberra on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before stopping in the iron ore-rich state of Western Australia.
Australia is China’s largest supplier of iron ore, and China has been an investor in Australian mining projects, although Australia has recently blocked some Chinese investments in key minerals on national interest grounds.
Li Keqiang arrived from New Zealand, where he emphasized China’s demand for the country’s agricultural products.
Canberra and Wellington are seeking to balance trade with regional security concerns over issues such as China’s ambitions in the Pacific islands and disputed human rights in the South China Sea.
