Penny Wong, Wang Yi meet in Parliament House

Senator Wong and Mr Wang met for the seventh time in Parliament House on Wednesday, marking the first time a Chinese foreign minister has visited Australia since 2017.

Outside, pro-Tibetan protesters gathered on the lawn.

Greens senator Janet Rice addressed the crowd, calling for both Senator Wong and the opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham to urgently raise human rights concerns with Mr Wang in their respective meetings.

“My message to both Penny Wong and Simon Birmingham is to put the issue of human rights in China and in Tibet absolutely top of the agenda,” Senator Rice said.

“We cannot have normal relationships with China while the people of Tibet are being oppressed, persecuted, do not have religious freedom, are being taken off their lands, while kids are being sent off to Chinese-run boarding schools.

“Australia has to speak out and say this is not good enough.”

Senator Wong said she had raised the issues with Mr Wang, during the first trip by a Chinese foreign minister since 2017.

“I raised Australia’s concerns about human rights, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong,” she said.

Senator Wong said the pair had exchanged “frank views”, including on the sentencing of Dr Yang Hengjun.

“I told the foreign minister Australians were shocked at the sentence imposed, and I made clear to him the Australian government will continue to advocate on Dr Yang’s behalf,” she said.

“I also raised our concerns about other Australians death penalty cases, as you know Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all peoples.”

The Australia-China relationship began souring in 2018, and descended into hostilities in 2020 after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

China retaliated by imposing tariffs on a number of key Australian commodities, which have since been gradually wound back since Labor assumed power.

Senator Wong said she “welcomed the progress” towards removing the trade impediments.

“I reiterated our desire for the removal of remaining impediments on beef and lobster,” she said.