Australian Prime Minister Albanese held a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Tuesday (November 7, 2023) and issued a joint outcome report. The two sides agreed to continue their contacts in multiple fields, but did not mention important issues such as human rights and the South China Sea.
According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Li Qiang held a welcome ceremony for Albanese at the Great Hall of the People before entering the talks.

The statement also stated that the leaders of the two countries agreed to continue and expand contacts in multiple fields, including political dialogue and the resumption of the annual meeting between the two prime ministers, bilateral trade, climate change, and cultural exchanges.
The statement did not mention that the two countries would engage in dialogue in areas such as human rights, security in the Indo Pacific region, and the maintenance of a rule-based international order.
Before going to China, Albanese promised to discuss with Chinese officials the human rights, detention nature, and lack of transparent procedures of Australian author Yang Hengjun.

Yang Hengjun was charged with espionage by China in 2019 and is still in prison. Yang Hengjun's son requested Albanese to express concern to the Chinese side and achieve a "miracle" for their father.
Albanese also claimed before departure that he would mention the tense situation in the South China Sea during the talks.
Beijing is Canberra's largest trading partner, but after the former Australian government banned Chinese technology giant Huawei from participating in the construction of the country's next-generation 5G mobile network and demanded an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, China imposed a series of punitive tariffs on Australia's coal, barley, and wine, causing a sharp decline in bilateral relations in 2020.
After meeting with Li Qiang on Tuesday, Albanese said he and China unanimously believe that if both sides can properly handle their differences, the two countries can develop relations and safeguard their respective national interests.
Sun Yun, a researcher at the Washington based Stimson Center, said that Beijing is keen to portray Albanese's visit as "Australia acknowledging its previous mistakes and making the right choices".