Huawei has been revealed as the biggest corporate sponsor of overseas trips for Australian politicians, weeks ahead of a closely watched decision on whether the Chinese telecoms group will be allowed to supply equipment its next-generation mobile network.
A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a defence think-tank, has found that Huawei paid for all or part of 12 trips to China by MPs over the past eight years, which is equivalent to more than one in five of all trips sponsored by companies since 2010.
These included trips by Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister, and Steve Ciobo, trade minister, when they were in opposition in 2012 and 2013, respectively.