Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to prod China on human rights and to enhance trade with the world's second biggest economy. These are her goals as she talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Tuesday.

Gillard is set to underscore the challenges confronting Australia and other Western governments seeking to boost trade with the largest user of Australia’s coal and iron ore deposits.

"We have a positive relationship with China but we do have differences," Gillard said in a meeting in Seoul last Monday as reported by AAP news agency.

"We do raise human rights concerns, we raise them in the context of seeking China's guarantee that the freedoms that are deserved by its people in its constitution are being observed and that China is not undertaking backward steps on human rights," Gillard elaborated.

China purchases more than a quarter of Australian exports, leaving Japan behind as the Australia's largest trading partner as of 2009. Two-way annual trade has now passed A$100 billion which increased from A$57 billion in 2009.

Quoting an Australian media comment about Gillard's visit to Beijing, a widely-read Chinese tabloid called “The Global Times” said, "For pro-America Australia, how to cozy up to Beijing is a big test."

This has been proven by one incident which concerned Canberra, a close ally of the United States and the Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto.
Looking back in 2009, China jailed Australian Stern Hu and three other employees of Rio Tinto for stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes. This pulled the ties between Beijing and Canberra.