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When Australian President Anthony Albanese took office in 2022, he vowed to improve relations with China and end a diplomatic hiatus that had been triggered by several prickly incidents during the pandemic. Mr Li's visit to the country this week, the first by a Chinese premier since 2017, has been seen as another step in the thawing of tensions.

But the meeting was overshadowed by Chinese officials appearing to block a formerly imprisoned journalist from the view of cameras at an event in Canberra.

Cheng Lei, who was imprisoned by Beijing for three years, said she believed two embassy officials had stood in front of her to prevent what they thought 鈥渨ould be a bad look鈥�.

The 49-year-old was working as a business reporter for China's state-run English language TV station CGTN when she was arrested in August 2020 and accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.

She was tried in secret and her charges were never made public, before her surprise release in October last year.

Cheng Lei spoke to Newshour's James Menendez.

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