On Monday, 6 November 2023, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing in the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to China since Gough Whitlam in 1973.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, led Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Wong through the monument to the Hall of Prayer where Chinese emperors visited in imperial times to pray for good harvests.