Talks to begin as China's Premier meets with Anthony Albanese in major visit

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host the Chinese premier for a state visit to Canberra, seeking to get rid of lingering trade impediments and push him on security and human rights concerns.

Premier Li Qiang declared that ties were "back on track" after "twists and turns" when he arrived at the weekend – welcome news to lobster fisheries and the remaining beef producers under restrictions.

The second-most powerful leader in Beijing will hold talks with Mr Albanese on Monday as part of an annual leaders' meeting in the capital, followed by a state lunch with politicians, business representatives and community leaders.

A trip to Australia's resource powerhouse Western Australia will make up the latter part of the visit, which is taking place with some clouds hanging over the two countries' broader relationship even as many trade restrictions have been removed.

China imposed sanctions on $20 billion of Australian products in 2020 after the former coalition government called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Premier Li's visit is the first by a Chinese premier to Australia in seven years and comes after a period of turbulence for the country's biggest trading partner, while recent military incidents in international waters have threatened the diplomatic thaw.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Sunday Canberra would press Australian interests forcefully after she was asked if she would raise the case of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who languishes ill in a Chinese jail.

Australia and China trade tensions thawing

The remaining trade bans are expected to be lifted within weeks but exporters could well ask if they might face them again.

"Then the question becomes how long can we be confident that we will have trade restriction-free exports going into China," said Dr Benjamin Herscovitch, a research fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance of Australian National University.

"It's always possible that Beijing, if there's some kind of serious infraction in Beijing's mind, could throw down the hammer on Australian exporters once again," he said on ABC Saturday Extra.

"The battle here is going to be one of a whole host of specific granular policy areas where Beijing is trying to inch forward and get additional concessions from Canberra.

"Canberra will be trying to hold the line, not give Beijing too much but also not once again enrage Beijing and prompt Beijing to impose trade restrictions once again."

At a lunch in Adelaide, the menu gave a subtle nod to the contentious issue.

Australia still cautious on security threat posed by China

Canberra has taken a tough stance on technology co-operation since Huawei, the Chinese-owned telecoms behemoth, was excluded from rolling out the national 5G network due to security concerns.

"Canberra is saying, look we want the trade restrictions gone and we want high-level diplomacy restored but we are not interested in deeper science and technology co-operation because we see that potentially from an Australian point of view as a security threat," Dr Herscovitch said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently ordered five Chinese-linked funds to cut their holding in rare earths mining company Northern Minerals.

Critical minerals are a key component of the prime minister's Future Made in Australia initiative, while there have long been global concerns about China's control of a large part of the production.

Critical minerals are used in many ways in the energy transition - from wind turbines to batteries.

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