Albanese weighs business and security ahead of Xi talks

Political differences will bump up against economic opportunities as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets his Chinese counterparts in the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Tuesday’s bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Communist Party Chairman Zhao Leji – the three highest-ranking members of China’s ruling committee – mark the centrepiece of Mr Albanese’s six-day tour of the Middle Kingdom. President Xi is top dog in China, and the optics of Mr Albanese’s rendezvous with one of the world’s most influential leaders will be powerful. But it’s his meeting with Premier Li, notionally the head…