Xi Jinping was a picture of calm as Anthony Albanese approached for his handshake, the Australian prime minister grinning broadly. The Chinese president beamed as he clasped Albanese’s hand and posed for the cameras on Tuesday.

The formal meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall was followed by a more intimate banquet between the leaders, which was interpreted as a sign of warmth from the Chinese side that went further than the reception given to some visiting leaders.

China Daily, a state media outlet, trumpeted the unusual length of Albanese’s visit (six days) and claimed the prime minister’s office saw the trip as a “friendly gesture” made “against the backdrop of rising tensions between the United States and many countries”.

But two awkward moments involving Australian journalists travelling with the prime minister acted as a counterweight to the stage-managed moments of warmth and words of co-operation that the leaders exchanged.

Earlier in the day, TV journalists at the Drum Tower in Beijing were temporarily stopped from getting back on........

© Brisbane Times