Ahead of Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Australia from Saturday, June 15 to Tuesday, June 18, the country was wondering about the future of two giant pandas, loaned to Adelaide Zoo in 2009. In all likelihood, Beijing would extend their stay, or even exchange them for another, more fertile pair. The return of panda diplomacy – China uses these creatures to facilitate rapprochements and improve its image abroad – testifies to the improvement of a relationship that had been particularly troubled between 2020 and 2022.
In November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the two countries could become "trusted partners" as he received an Australian head of government, Anthony Albanese, for the first time in seven years. Seven months later, the visit of the People's Republic's number two to the island-continent, for the first time since 2017, "represents another important step in stabilizing our relationship with China (...) Our approach has been patient, calibrated and deliberate," Albanese stressed on Wednesday.
On a first stop in Adelaide, the two men were scheduled to visit the zoo before lunching at a winery with executives from the sector, which in 2020 was hit with anti-dumping duties of up to 218%, costing the industry 1.1 billion Australian dollars (nearly €700 million) a year. Beijing lifted the duties in March.
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