Chinese premier and Australian prime minister meet at Australia's Parliament House

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and senior ministers of both administrations met at Parliament House on Monday to discuss thorny issues, including lingering trade barriers, conflict between their militaries in international waters and China’s desire to invest in critical minerals.

Li planned to underscore China’s interest in buying a bigger stake in Australia’s critical minerals sector, which is essential to the global transition to renewable energy sources, by visiting a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in Western Australia state Tuesday.

Li visited New Zealand before Australia and is scheduled to stop in Malaysia before returning to China.