Chinese Premier Li to visit Australia in June, SCMP says

China’s Premier Li Qiang attends a meeting with France’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Stephane Sejourne (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 1, 2024. Pedro Pardo/File Photo

SYDNEY - China's Premier Li Qiang will visit Australia in June, the South China Morning Post said on Thursday, the latest step in a thawing of ties between the two nations.

Australia and China, its largest trading partner, are rebuilding ties after a period of strained relations, which hit a low in 2020 after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origin of COVID-19.

The visit in the third week of June will coincide with a lifting of an unofficial three-year ban on Australian live lobsters, the paper said, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

A spokesperson for Australia's department of the prime minister and cabinet declined to comment.

China's foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Since a change of government in Canberra two years ago, Beijing has agreed to lift most of the tariffs on Australian goods, including barley and wine, with lobsters one of the last commodities facing curbs.

"We welcome the efforts ... to improve diplomatic relations," said a spokesperson for Geraldton Fishermen's Co-Operative, Australia's largest rock lobster exporter.

"Restoring market access is a win-win and will contribute to Australia's economy through export earnings, jobs and regional development."

Following a visit by Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last month that she was expecting a visit from Li this year, without saying when.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)