Pandas and bionic ears are on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s agenda as his six-day tour of China reaches its final leg.
Mr Albanese touched down in Chengdu, in China’s southwest on Wednesday afternoon, where he announced the Sichuan capital would be given hosting rights to an Australian Open wildcard play-off tournament for a second year running.
In the sweltering 37C heat, the prime minister turned down the offer of a hit on centre court, instead hailing the role of sport in boosting people-to-people and cultural links between Australia and China.
“I know that my dear friend (former professional tennis player) Glenn Busby comes here and coaches and spends a lot of time here each year, and he tells me that China will dominate the sport in the years to come,” he said.
Chengdu, a provincial hub home to 21 million residents, is best known outside of China as the home of giant pandas.
Mr Albanese will visit a breeding research centre at the forefront of efforts to save the species from extinction.
As well as a beloved cultural icon, pandas are a central part of China’s efforts to exert soft power in the world.
In a meeting with local party secretary Wang Xiaohui, Mr Albanese said pandas “have been such an important feature” of building positive relations between Australia and China.
He noted the two new pandas who were loaned to Adelaide Zoo in 2024 in the latest example of panda diplomacy.
“I thank this province for our two newest guests who have been so well received,” he said.
But Chengdu has another, arguably more impactful, connection to Australia.
Cochlear, the Australian hearing device company, bases a manufacturing and research plant in the city, which the prime minister will visit on Thursday.
More than 50,000 Chinese patients have had hearing loss restored by a Cochlear device, making it one of the company’s largest markets.
But with a population of 1.4 billion, there is plenty of scope for expansion
“Chengdu is home to inspiring examples of world-leading Australian and Chinese co-operation in science, technology, research and education,” Mr Albanese will say at a medtech luncheon.
Both governments had a responsibility to invest in research and an opportunity to deepen co-operation in medical manufacturing, he will say.
“This also depends on continuing to break down barriers by supporting the free and fair trade that enables Australian medtech companies to access the market here in China.”
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