Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews attacked by opposition over media-free China trip

The Victorian opposition has attacked Premier Daniel Andrews over his upcoming trip to China, accusing him of a lack of transparency.

This week's trip will make him the first Australian politician to go there since the signing of the AUKUS defence deal, an agreement slammed by Beijing as a threat to stability in the region.

Andrews said although it would be a "quick" visit, it was an "important" one.

READ MORE: Woman killed in Melbourne crash, driver flees

Caulfield Liberal MP David Southwick said it was important for Andrews to be transparent.

"I think all Victorians would want to know who Daniel Andrews is meeting. What's the intention of the trip? And what's the benefit to Victorians?" he said.

The four-day trip will see the premier meet with senior officials from the Ministry of Education and Beijing government to discuss the return of Chinese students to the state.

Andrews will also travel to Jiangsu and Sichuan, meeting with key senior officials to forge strong relationships within the provinces.

"It's an opportunity to (show) that Melbourne is open, Victoria is open, and that the Chinese economy and the Chinese community is very important to us because they are important to our future," he said.

"We think this will be very important for Victorian jobs and exports and to make sure we can maintain 42,000 students but grow that in the years to come."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong travelled to Beijing to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi back in December.

It marked the first visit by an Australian federal minister to China since 2019.

READ MORE: What's next for Liberals after history-making election loss?

Andrews last visited China in October 2019, when he signed the state up to the global infrastructure initiative, Belt and Road.

The agreement is a $1.5 trillion initiative which involves the construction of infrastructure, mostly co-funded by China.

The move led to the Morrison government to enact new laws which allowed them to cancel deals between states and foreign powers.

Media will not be welcome on the trip, with Andrews saying it wasn't "picture-friendly".

However, he made it clear that this trip wasn't made "to sign deals".

"We are having a series of meetings back-to-back," he said.

"This is about making sure we have as many students coming to Melbourne as possible."

"This is about sending a clear message that we value the partnership."

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.