Top Chinese diplomat arrives, as another incident revealed

He will hold meetings with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Jan Adams in Canberra on Tuesday morning, as well as opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham.
Mr Liu is expected to discuss plans for a potential visit by Mr Xi next year. Senator Wong is expected to raise the plight of detained pro-democracy advocate Yang Hengjun, as well as the few remaining trade bans.
Mr Liu will also speak at the Australia China Relations Institute on Tuesday, and take part in a question-and-answer session.
Mr Liu last week met Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, to finalise the trip.
James Laurenceson, the executive director of the Australia China Research Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney, said Mr Liu’s visit was only the second by a Chinese minister during the Albanese government’s term.
“Chinese government officials of the seniority of minister Liu typically meet Australian political leaders and foreign affairs officials behind closed doors in Canberra,” he said.
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“It’s exceptionally rare to make themselves available for an event that’s being broadcast live and is largely unscripted.”
But Mr Liu appears set on breaking the mould of his predecessors, having done similar events in London in June and Paris last month.
Talking points
“By a public university hosting Minister Liu, he’ll get the opportunity to tell Australians what the [Communist Party] wants us to hear, and Australians get the opportunity to decide for themselves how compelling those talking points are, as well as put their own questions and concerns directly to him.”
In question time, Mr Albanese again refused to say whether he complained to Mr Xi about how Australian divers suffered minor injuries when a Chinese warship ignored warnings and turned on its underwater radar while observing HMAS Toowoomba in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Mr Albanese said disclosing private conversations between leaders would be damaging, and cited the case of freed Australian journalist Cheng Lei to defend his actions.
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“We communicated this through all appropriate channels and with every opportunity that was available to us,” he said.
“You might like to ask yes or no as to whether Cheng Lei thinks that our
approach towards diplomatic relations is more effective than yours.”
Senator Birmingham said Mr Albanese was desperate to raise Ms Cheng.
“It’s the prime minister’s inept handling of one of the first serious incidents he’s faced in Australia-China relations that has brought even attention and duration to this issue,” Senator Birmingham said.
Meanwhile, as Australian forces including HMAS Toowoomba wrapped up joint patrols, the chief of the Philippines military, General Romeo Brawner jnr, revealed Chinese jets had observed the exercises, including circling a Filipino plane.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.