The decision to lease the port to Landbridge has been criticised in the decade since the deal was announced, including by former US president Barack Obama
Published Mon, May 26, 2025 · 01:34 PM
[CANBERRA] China’s ambassador to Australia has warned Canberra to be careful in its handling of the lease of a strategically important port, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to bring it back into his country’s hands.
Ambassador Xiao Qian said the 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin in the Northern Territory was awarded to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015 “through an open and transparent bidding process”, according to a statement published to the embassy’s website on Sunday (May 25), adding the company had made “significant investments” since then.
“Such an enterprise and project deserves encouragement, not punishment. It is ethically questionable to lease the port when it was unprofitable and then seek to reclaim it once it becomes profitable,” Xiao said in the statement, which appeared to be a transcript of an interview with local and Chinese media.
The decision to lease the port to Landbridge has been criticised in the decade since the deal was announced, including by former US president Barack Obama. The port is Australia’s most northern maritime facility, situated on the edge of South-east Asia, and sits close to a military training facility used by visiting US marines.
Albanese’s centre-left Labor government had been in discussions with the Northern Territory government around the port’s future amid concerns about the financial status of Landbridge in late 2024. However, the decision came to a head during the 2025 election campaign, when both major political parties pledged to bring the port back into Australian control.
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting in April, Albanese said he wanted to find new private owner if possible, however. “If it reaches a point where the Commonwealth needs to directly intervene, then we’d be prepared to do that.”
Terry O’Connor, non-executive director for Landbridge in Australia, said in a statement to Bloomberg that the company “looks forward to engaging with government as it requires”. BLOOMBERG
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