China warns Australia against taking back control of key port in Darwin 

China’s ambassador to Australia has warned Canberra against taking control of a port whose lease to a Chinese-owned company has been heavily scrutinised over its strategic significance.

On Wednesday, Xiao Qian criticised the Australian government’s moves as unethical and “no way to do business”.

Landbridge Group, owned by Chinese billionaire Ye Cheng, has controlled Port Darwin, located in Australia’s remote Northern Territory, since 2015 under a 99-year lease agreement.

Australian authorities reached the $350m lease deal with Shandong province-based Landbridge in the hope the port’s expansion would revitalise the economy of the largely rural territory.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to return the port to Australian control during campaigning ahead of national elections in May last year, saying the facility should be run by a local company or the government.

In his annual briefing to local media, Xiao said, “When you’re losing money, you want to lease it to a foreign company, and when it’s making money, you want to take it back?”

The ambassador said Beijing would “take measures” to defend Landbridge’s interests if the Australian government tried to forcibly alter the lease agreement.

“We will see when it’s time for us to say something, do something, to reflect the Chinese government’s position and protect our Chinese companies’ legitimate interests,” he said, without elaborating.

Responding to Xiao’s comments during a visit to East Timor on Wednesday, Albanese repeated his intention to return the facility to Australian control, describing it as being in the “national interest”.

Despite years of controversy amid claims the port deal poses national security risks, multiple government reviews, including one commissioned by Albanese, concluded there were no grounds to cancel or alter the agreement with the Chinese firm.

China is Australia’s top trading partner, with two-way trade in 2024-25 totalling $218bn, though relations between Beijing and Canberra have been tested in recent years by disputes over issues such as national security and human rights.