China’s ambassador warns Albanese reclaiming Port of Darwin will force Beijing to intervene | Foreign investment

China’s ambassador to Australia has said the Albanian government’s plans to strip the Port of Darwin from Chinese ownership would risk future trade growth and force Beijing to intervene.

Ambassador Xiao Qian lashed out at Labor’s policy of forcing the Chinese-owned Landbridge company to sell its 99-year lease on the port, which stemmed from both Labor and the Coalition’s pre-election national security concerns.

The government has not yet announced a timeline for compulsory sales.

Landbridge, owned by Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng, did not require federal approval when it first purchased the port in 2015, but the sale sparked complaints from national security agencies and even then-US president Barack Obama.

Xiao, who held a press conference on Wednesday, said that Canberra and Beijing, as well as company owners, have discussed the port issue in the months since the 2025 election.

“Landbridge has invested a lot in the last 10 years,” he said. “From last year Darwin port stopped losing money and started making money.

“Suddenly we heard that the Australian government wanted to take it back.

“When you lose money, you rent it to a foreign company, and when you start making money, you want to take it back. This cannot be done.”

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Landbridge paid $506 million to secure 99-year control of the port. Last fiscal year, the company recorded a profit of $9.6 million, compared to a loss of $37 million in the previous year.

Speaking at the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Xiao said it was the company’s responsibility to decide its continued role at the port, but also warned that “the Chinese government has an obligation to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese companies abroad.”

“If there is something like a port [being taken] If we return by force or coercive measures, we have an obligation to take measures to protect the interests of the Chinese company.

“If Landbridge is forced to abandon that port, I think that could also impact significant investment, cooperation and trade between Chinese companies and that part of Australia. That’s not in Australia’s interests either.”

China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 24% ($309 billion) of all trade in goods and services in the last financial year.

Anthony Albanese announced compulsory sales plans in a hastily planned radio interview during the election campaign last year. The Prime Minister said Landbridge was not investing enough in its port operations, although he had previously rejected moves to cancel the lease.

Two government reviews of the port sale, commissioned by both the Coalition and Labor, concluded that there were no national security grounds to terminate the lease.

The then Coalition government sought to give the Foreign Investment Review Board greater powers after the sale.

Xiao downplayed the deployment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy to waters around Australia last year.

Defense pursued a group of ships in December, while in February 2025 a Chinese naval task group raised concerns at the highest level by circling Australia and conducting live-fire exercises near the country’s waters.

Xiao described the incident as a “coincidence”.

“It was connected in that region, in that part of the world. It was close to Australia, but not in Australian territory or even in the EEZ, which is the exclusive economic zone,” he said.

“It has nothing to do with Australia”

Xiao called on Canberra to prepare to deal with a “reunified China” and said it was unacceptable to oppose Beijing’s moves to control Taiwan. Australia supports Taiwan’s status quo and opposes any unilateral moves by Beijing to control the self-governing island.

“We are somewhat flexible in managing some issues of difference, such as trade relations between the two countries and issues in other areas,” Xiao said.

“However, the Taiwan issue is not an issue on which the region should make concessions or be flexible. There is no room for us to do that.”