On the second day of his visit, Albanese is prioritizing significant business ventures. Yesterday, he teamed up with former Socceroos star and current manager of Chinese club Shanghai Port, Kevin Muscat, to advocate for increasing tourism to Australia.

“Increasingly, Chinese tourists are spending more than tourists from other destinations,” Albanese said.

This morning, the focus turns to iron ore, which is Australia’s biggest export, and for which China is our biggest buyer.

In 2024, Australian iron ore exports to China reached over $120 billion, based on United Nations data. Additionally, in November 2023, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute reported that Australia accounted for 61 percent of China’s iron ore imports.

However, China’s focus on emissions reduction could threaten that economic buttress, as Australian ore refinement requires extra energy expenditure.

That’s at the centre of discussions today, with high-level industry bosses like Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest joining the prime minister and Chinese industry leaders to discuss how Australia can help “greenify” China’s steel industry.

However, national security and defence questions continue to resound at home, particularly after it emerged recently that the US could push to mandate Australian support over a potential Taiwan conflict as part of a revised AUKUS agreement.

National security expert Michael Shoebridge said Albanese was walking a tightrope on the issue, and that it was clear there was some level of concern in Washington DC about the alliance.

“I think our whole defence strategy is we don’t fight alone,” Shoebridge told Today.

“We work with partners and allies to prevent wars, but we’ll fight together if a war happens. That’s the whole strategy.”

Albanese has previously pushed back on US demands for an increase in defence spending.

Albanese will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of his visit to China this week.