Minerals investment highlighted in Li's Perth visit
China’s investment in critical minerals, clean energy and business links topped the agenda of Premier Li Qiang's visit to the Australian city of Perth on Tuesday. Li said China's economy has continued to rebound and improve, with its new growth drivers gaining momentum, against the backdrop of sluggish global growth. Speaking on the final leg of his trip to Australia, the premier said China was planning major measures for further comprehensively deepening reform and steadily expanding institutional opening-up, and the country's business environment will get better. During his trip to Perth, Li inspected iron ore miner Fortescue’s clean energy research facility. Fortescue’s chairman Andrew Forrest said Li was interested in the company’s plans to produce iron ore without carbon emissions and potentially “green iron”. “I think China chose us because it’s not just the best technology to go green in Australia, it’s the best technology to go green in the world and we’ve got real examples of it in trains, ship engines, trucks,” Forrest told The Associated Press before the visit. He also said the national risk from Chinese investment in the critical minerals sector was overstated. “Australia should be producing all the critical minerals in the world because we’re a great mining country, so by all means let’s go in harder after critical minerals, but let’s not do it with panic because there is no reason for panic,” Forrest said. Li also visited Chinese-controlled Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia’s processing plant south of Perth to underscore China’s interest in investing in critical minerals.  The plant produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles. Li and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew to Perth from the national capital Canberra where the two leaders on Monday held an official annual meeting with senior ministers in Parliament House. Both attended a round table of business leaders in Perth representing resource companies including mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto. Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said business dialogue was essential to the bilateral relations between the two trading partners. “While there have been challenging times in the bilateral relationship between the two nations, I think it’s fair to say this is another positive point of progress,” Black told the meeting. (Xinhua/AP)