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Dan Andrews 2.0! Jacinta Allan sparks outrage after flying to China in a bid to increase visa numbers

Jacinta Allan takes fire over China visit

Follows Daniel Andrews’ widely slammed trip

READ MORE: Dan Andrews breaks silence on controversial China visit

By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 12:07 BST, 15 September 2025 | Updated: 12:32 BST, 15 September 2025

Jacinta Allan has been scalded for flying to Beijing for five days of trade talks after her predecessor Daniel Andrews’ controversial appearance at Tiananmen Square.

The current Victorian Premier touched down in the Chinese capital on Monday ahead of five-day trip to secure the state’s supply of international students and investment.

Though Allan will cap the first day of her visit by launching Victoria’s new China strategy, the trip has so far been overshadowed by Andrews’ recent visit.

He sparked a media frenzy when he was pictured alongside North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military parade at Tiananmen Square earlier this month.

Asked what she made of Andrews’ appearance, Allan said it was good for Victoria the former premier was ‘held in such high regard by the people of China’.

In Beijing on Monday, Allan said she wouldn’t be deterred from asking Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise the cap on international students to Australia.

Last year, the Albanese government imposed a cap of 270,000 international student enrolments for the 2025 calendar year.

Speaking in Beijing, Allan said she had shared ‘many conversations’ with Albanese on the subject and his government was well aware of Victoria’s position.

Allan (third from right) is pictured outside the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on the first of five-day trip to deepen economic ties between the state and China

Dan Andrews (back right) with world leaders in Beijing including (front l–r) Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping with his wife Peng Liyuan, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un

‘I will always say yes to international students, and I’m not going to be deterred, because it’s so important. It’s so important (and it) means jobs,’ she said on Monday.

It followed her announcement of a range of higher education initiatives in Beijing, including the revival of a Chinese scholarship program for regional Victorian students.

At a business event on Monday night, Allan will unveil Victoria’s new China strategy -a plan she will differentiate from that created by the Andrews’ government in 2016.

She will say her strategy is different in that it prioritises education, boosts regional Victoria and empowers the local Chinese community.

‘In Victoria, we have not turned our backs to China – we have turned to face it,’ she will say in a draft of the speech seen by The Australian.

‘We trade our shared strengths. We invest in shared projects. In an uncertain global economy, that means jobs, stability and confidence – and a better future for our families.’

She is joined by four Labor backbenchers – Clarinda MP Meng Heang Tak, Point Cook MP Mat Hilakari, Glen Waverley MP John Mullahy and Ashwood MP Matt Fregon – who represent electorates with large numbers of Chinese voters.

Allan ducked questions over whether the invitations showed the trip was a political move designed to shore up votes from Chinese Australians when asked last week.

Allan will unveil Victoria’s new China strategy on Monday night. She is pictured in Beijing

Allan has been forced to distance her new China strategy from that of her predecessor Daniel Andrews (pictured)

I survived the Tiananmen Square massacre – seeing Daniel Andrews in Beijing makes my blood boil

‘Having a number of members of parliament travelling as part of my first official trip to China next week just demonstrates clearly how our connection, our modern-day connection, with Chinese Victorians is strong,’ she answered.

Allan took fire over Andrews’ controversial trip to Beijing this month for refusing to condemn his appearance.

‘Victoria is an old friend of China, and these connections are so valuable for our state,’ she said at the time.

She added she was looking forward to building on those connections with her trade mission, where she would announce the state’s new China strategy.

Andrews made six visits to China during his tenure as premier, including one trip where he committed Victoria to China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’.

The agreements were later torn up by the Morrison government in what the Chinese embassy condemned as ‘another unreasonable and provocative mood’.

On Friday, Allan refused to be drawn when asked whether she intended to meet with Andrews during her visit.

‘Daniel is a private citizen,’ she said.

‘I’m not aware of the travel plans of every private citizen here in Victoria.’

Daily Mail has contacted Allan for comment.

Jacinta AllanBeijingChina

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Dan Andrews 2.0! Jacinta Allan sparks outrage after flying to China in a bid to increase visa numbers

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