Australia’s top line politicians are preparing for a chance to lower the relationship temperature with Chinese officials as the first full day of a long-awaited visit kicks off.

Li Qiang, who is second only to President Xi Jinping in the Beijing pecking order, was met at Adelaide Airport on Saturday by an assembly of politicians including Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas.

The trip to Australia will be the first by a Chinese premier in seven years.

Mr Li will begin Sunday engaging in panda diplomacy with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by extending the loan of Wang Wang and Fu Ni, described by Adealide Zoo as Australia’s only breeding pair of the globally-loved animal.

The pandas have not procreated, leading to concerns about their fate.

Mr Li will also meet with winemakers, who are likely to raise a glass to the premier after China lifted restrictions on Australian wine.

Beijing has gradually dropped bans on exports with less than $1 billion worth of trade restrictions remaining on rock lobsters and two meatworks.

Mr Li will travel to Canberra on Sunday afternoon where he will be met by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

A trip to Perth will make up the latter part of the visit which is taking place as clouds hang over the two countries’ broader relationship.

The imprisonment of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who received a suspended death sentence in February and remains in jail, and the targeting of Australian residents by Hong Kong authorities are thorny points.

So too are the growing number of incidents between the countries’ militaries as China’s powers grow and its influence in the Pacific region expands.

The opposition has warned the prime minister not to go easy on Mr Li.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Saturday said the government would not shy away from confronting China on important issues.

“We’ve made it clear on earlier occasions that we are prepared to speak up for those values and interests when that’s appropriate,” he said.

“We don’t pretend that isn’t sometimes a difficult relationship to manage but we do believe that when you engage meaningfully with … countries like China, then the ultimate beneficiaries of that are the people of Australia.”

The commodities Australia exports to China to produce the steel, copper and aluminium that form the backbone of its economy add an important dimension to relations.

Meanwhile Mr Albanese will be keen to drum up more business from the nation’s biggest trading partner to keep the base of the relationship intact while managing the geopolitical elements of China’s growth and projection of power.

This post was originally published on Michael West.