In a speech to the US State Department on Friday, Mr Albanese talked up the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and investing in relationships as China emerges as the "test of our time".

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles noted Australia had a complex relationship with China and needed to act carefully.

"China is a source of significant security anxiety for Australia," he told Nine's Today show.

"They're also our largest trading partner and because of that complexity we need to have diplomatic processes in place.

"We need to be able to interact with China and we need to be able to stabilise the relationship with China, but we do this very much with our eyes wide open."

The trip comes weeks after Beijing struck a deal with Canberra that could end tariffs on Australian wine exports, worth $1.2 billion, and potentially resolve similar barriers imposed on lobster and beef.

Earlier this month, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet also confirmed it would not cancel a lease on the Port of Darwin, held by a Chinese company, after a review found it was "not necessary".

"We're in a much better situation now than we were in May of last year," Mr Marles said.

But China's significant military build-up in the Indo-Pacific region remained a concern.

"It changes our strategic landscape and we're obviously responding to that as well," he said.

"This requires a nuanced, complex, sophisticated response, and that's what we are seeking to do."

The trip will mark 50 years since the first visit to China by an Australian prime minister.

The last to visit China was Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

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