PM strolls Shanghai's Bund under watchful eyes of Chinese officials

News.com.au

3 days ago

Anthony Albanese has taken a walk down Shanghai's world-famous waterfront under the watchful eyes of Chinese officials, with his hosts doing their utmost to give him an unobstructed view of the towering central skyline.
Onlookers gazed with unabashed curiosity as the Prime Minister and his posse strolled along the picturesque Bund with an air of confidence akin to the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.
'It isn't racism,' one Australian official told NewsWire.
'They just haven't seen so many white people in a big group like this before.'
Among the curious crowds were people eager to extend warm welcomes and well-wishes in English.
'Hello, welcome,' a young man said.
Another onlooker said she wished 'you have a warm stay'.
But asked any questions that strayed from general niceties, they simply smiled and repeated their greetings.
Mr Albanese was accompanied by Australian soccer legend Kevin Muscat.
Mr Muscat is now head coach at Shanghai Port FC.
'A legendary Australian footballer, and now the manager here of Shanghai FC port and indeed, premiership winning manager here,' Mr Albanese told reporters from the promenade.
'One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is that we build people-to-people relations.
'And we do that by the participation of Australians here, whether it be here in football, whether it be the leading tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu, for the Australian Open, whether it be the business relationships that we have here as well.'
China's charm offensive comes as Canberra and Beijing strive to focus on the positives of their relationship.
Mr Albanese, who touched down in Shanghai on Saturday, has spruiked tourism, trade and people-to-people links.
The Chinese government is acutely aware that Australia's relationship with the US is strained by the Trump administration's tariffs and the Albanese government's lacklustre defence spending.
In the minds of Canberra and Beijing, both are reasons to talk more, not less.
Ahead of Mr Albanese's lengthy state visit, China's ambassador invited the Albanese government to deepen the Australia's economic relationship with China and find consensus on differences — however chiasmic they may be.
The envoy even teased co-operation on artificial intelligence.
Though, Mr Albanese has so far neither embraced nor rejected the wooing and instead stuck firmly to his China mantra: 'We will co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, but engage in our national interest.'