China's Xi to welcome Australian PM Albanese in Beijing

On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Beijing. Beijing is Canberra's biggest trading partner, but relations plummeted in 2020 after Australia's then-conservative government barred Chinese tech giant Huawei and called for an inquest into the origins of Covid-19.
But China has reversed course since Albanese took power in May last year, lifting most of its restrictions on Australian goods. Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China in more than seven years. Albanese met Australian businessmen and women at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai at the start of a four-day state visit.