Kevin Hogan says Anthony Albanese’s lack of action to meet with Trump a ‘real shame’ amid PM’s trip to China

It is a “real shame” Anthony Albanese does not have the “same exuberance” about meeting with Donald Trump as he does Xi Jinping, the shadow Trade Minister says, describing the Prime Minister’s mission to China as a “working holiday”.

Kevin Hogan made the comments as Mr Albanese prepared to arrive back on home soil after a six-day charm offensive in China where he focused on stabilising Australia’s relationship with its key trading partner.

During the tour Mr Albanese met with Mr Xi, his fourth meeting with the Chinese President, as well as Premier Li Qiang and National People’s Congress chairman Zhao Leji, in a bid to strengthen the country’s economic ties.

Mr Hogan said it was important Mr Albanese made the visit, but added: “I think it’s a shame he doesn’t have the same exuberance, if you like, to meet with the US President and go to the US, but that’s something we need to work on”.

He acknowledged Mr Albanese was working to secure a meeting with Mr Trump and said it was “important we continue to reach out”.

“I think it’s good the Prime Minister went to China, I think it’s good that he did the panda thing and re-enacted Gough Whitlam’s Great Wall of China visit. I don’t have a criticism of that,” he said on Friday.

“They are an important trading partner, I’m glad the Prime Minister has visited there and been there for that reason. I’m just adding it’s a real shame he doesn’t have the same exuberance about doing that with the US President.”

Opposition Finance Minister James Paterson on Thursday slammed the trip, saying though the Coalition had provided bipartisan support for the Government’s trade mission, the visit had started to look “a little bit indulgent”.

Senator Paterson argued the appropriate time to do a “nostalgic history tour of Labor Party mythology” was in retirement, not after failing to meet the US President since his election.

Mr Albanese has come under intense pressure to lock in a meeting with Mr Trump after the Pentagon called a snap review into the future of the AUKUS pact. Mr Trump’s trade tariffs have also been a sore point.

“We have profoundly serious issues at stake in that bilateral relationship as well, including potentially tariffs on one of our largest export industries to the United States, pharmaceuticals,” Senator Paterson said.

Asked if Mr Albanese got the “tone and balance right” with his trip, shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor said he was “still trying to work out what he’s coming home with”.

“He went down memory lane, listened to some Midnight Oil and went in the footsteps of Gough Whitlam, but we need more than that,” he said.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek on Friday said stabilising Australia’s relationship with China “has been important particularly for our farmers, our grain growers, our wine makers, our lobster fishermen”.

“The fact that the Prime Minister is in China at the moment shows the Australian Government’s commitment to making sure that it continues to be a strong economic relationship,” she told the ABC.

“The Prime Minister’s had a roundtable about our iron ore exports to China.

“The iron ore that Australia exports is the largest source of foreign iron ore in China. We know how important steelmaking is for the modern economy.

“The Prime Minister’s visited a tourism business. Chinese tourism to Australia is the largest source of tourism by value, it’s worth more than $9 billion a year already.

“And so, people should see the potential benefits of increasing China’s tourism to Australia. The hundreds of millions or billions of dollars of extra spending it will feed into the Australian economy as we see Chinese tourism increase.”