Xiao Qian’s term as China’s ambassador saw the Australia-China relationship move from deep freeze to cautious stability, though many tensions remain unresolved.

In modern-day instant communication, the role of an ambassador has become less important than it once was.

But China’s man in Canberra for the past four and a half years, Xiao Qian, has played a key role in steadying the relationship after the very rocky period under the Morrison government.

An experienced diplomat, Xiao was sent to Canberra from his former post as Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, a key diplomatic appointment. It followed earlier stints as ambassador to Hungary and posts in the Philippines, the US and India.

He arrived on Australia Day 2022, positioned so he could take advantage of a possible Labor victory in the election to improve relations – an event which came to pass in May 2022 with the election of the Albanese government.

It was a sharp contrast with the situation which had faced his predecessor, Cheng Jingye, a low-key diplomat who found himself thrust into a rapidly deteriorating political relationship between Canberra and Beijing in the wake of calls by the Morrison government for an inquiry into the causes of Covid, in the uncomfortable situation of becoming the ‘bad guy’ on the spot. His stint saw China react to deteriorating relations by imposing tariffs on a range of goods including wine and barley, with imports on other goods including beef, lobster and coal faced with other barriers.

Experienced, urbane and confident, Xiao arrived with a more positive brief. While staying within the parameters of the official line from Beijing, he was prepared to take a more high-profile role than many of his predecessors.

I first saw him in action when the director of the Australia China Relations Institute at UTS, James Laurenceson, invited him to speak at a public forum at the university in June 2022.

Laurenceson insisted that the forum be an open one, albeit with tight security, which attracted its fair share of protesters.........

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