Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining, the first in a series of high-level exchanges during his week-long China visit.

Chen said China and Australia are important partners, and Shanghai is willing to play a bigger role in boosting further cooperation between the two countries.

Albanese, for his part, said he's happy to visit Shanghai and attaches great importance to relations with China.

The Australian leader is leading “a very large business delegation” to China, which speaks to the importance of the economic relations between the two countries, he told CGTN upon his arrival in Shanghai on Saturday.

During the trip to China, he's expected to meet President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress chairman Zhao Leji.

Albanese will also meet business, tourism and sport representatives in Shanghai and Chengdu, and attend a CEO roundtable on Tuesday in Beijing, his office said.

It is his second visit to China since his centre-left Labor Party government was first elected in 2022.

The party was re-elected in May with an increased majority.

In an editorial on Sunday, Xinhua News Agency described China’s relationship with Australia as “steadily improving” and undergoing “fresh momentum”.

“There are no fundamental conflicts of interest between China and Australia,” the editorial stated. “By managing differences through mutual respect and focusing on shared interests, the two sides can achieve common prosperity and benefit.” (Additional reporting by AP)