“We have 1,000 reasons to improve China-US relations, but not one reason to ruin them,” Xi told US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer last month.
And Albanese is far from the first foreign leader visiting China this year to find themselves at the receiving end of that charm offensive.
French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, found himself greeted by a horde of screaming fans on a visit in April.
One “possible reason for the change in Chinese diplomacy has been Beijing’s efforts to deal with an increasingly difficult domestic economy, where youth unemployment is at a record high”, Tom Harper, a scholar of China’s foreign policy, wrote in The Conversation this year.
“It can also be seen as an effort to establish more partnerships internationally, rather than antagonise the entire western world,” he said.
But beyond the smiles, whether or not anyone is convinced by the new approach is another question — as is whether good optics can transform into tangible outcomes.
Despite the flattery for Albanese this week, “there are still areas where Australia and China’s perspectives do not align”, Bec Strating, associate professor of international relations at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, told AFP.
“We see Australia, particularly in areas of security and defence, still moving a lot closer to Washington,” she said.
Pressed this week in Beijing on whether he “trusts” Xi, Albanese instead insisted the Chinese leader had kept his word so far.
And there are few illusions that Xi is deviating from core national goals, regardless of the rhetoric placed in front of them.
“Xi still wants to achieve China’s national rejuvenation as the world’s leading power,” said Thomas, of the Asia Society.
“But he is now going back to an earlier strategy of pursuing this goal through deeper diplomatic and economic exchanges.”
