Albanese is the first Australian leader to set foot in China in seven years, a sign of the thawing relations between the countries.
Barriers between the two remain, though, including significant trade tariffs that are set to be on the agenda when Albanese meets with Xi.
The prime minister said he was looking forward to constructive discussions with Xi after recent concessions made by China in relation to the importation of Australian barley.
"There are promising signs," Albanese said.
"We've already seen a number of the impediments to trade between our two nations removed and an uplift already, substantial uplift, in the trade between our two nations...
"Barley already restarting, barley arriving here, making a difference.
"What that means is Australian jobs."
From the outset of his prime ministership, Albanese had demanded that China immediately lift what he described as "unjustified" official and unofficial trade barriers costing Australian exporters $20 billion a year.
Those barriers have since been substantially reduced and now cost about $2 billion.
Labelling China Australia's most important trading partner, Albanese said it was crucial to remain engaged with the Asian superpower, just as it was to remain engaged with the United States.
"Yesterday [at a trade fair in Shanghai] I was with 250 Australian businesses," he said.
"That's about Australian jobs. That has an impact on our economy.
"That has an impact on inflation and how successful we are.
"We are a trading nation. This is very much in Australia's national interest for us to be engaged just as it was in Australia's national interest for me to be engaged in the United States."
The comments come after Albanese stopped by the China International Import Expo to help showcase the produce of more than 250 Australian companies, including crayfish and beef producers.
Also on the agenda when the two leaders meet tonight will be human rights issues, with Albanese promising earlier to bring up the jailing of Australian pro-democracy blogger Yang Hengjun, who has been detained in China without conviction for almost five years.
"I'll be saying that Dr Yang's case needs to be resolved and I'll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes," Albanese told reporters in Darwin on Saturday, shortly before his plane departed for Shanghai.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry this week defended Yang's prosecution, saying his case had been handled in strict accordance with the law.
While saying he was "very positive" about the talks, Albanese vowed to be forthright with Xi when they meet.
"What he can expect from me is the continued patient, calibrated and deliberate way of engaging, and what I expect from President Xi is the same," Albanese said.
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2023-11-06 07:21:04Z
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