China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold closed door meetings with Australian business leaders and policy experts on Wednesday as part of his first visit to the country in more than seven years.

Wang will attend a “private roundtable” in Canberra hosted by the Australia China Business Council (ACBC), the lobby group said in a statement on Tuesday. Although the invitee list is private, the council said it includes business leaders from the resources, financial and legal services sectors, as well as high profile academics and think tank executives.

According to The Australian newspaper, executives from mining giants Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group Ltd are among those who have been invited to the roundtable, along with officials from Graincorp Ltd. Treasury Wine Estates Ltd was invited to the event but was unable to attend.

Wang is visiting Australia and New Zealand for high-level meetings with officials in both countries. Along with the private roundtable, Wang will meet with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra on Wednesday for the seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue.

ACBC National president David Olsson said in a statement that the private meeting with Wang is an “important opportunity” to speak with one of China’s most senior leaders on the future of relations between Beijing and Canberra.

  - Bloomberg