Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will enjoy lunch with some of China's richest and more powerful people when he visits Shanghai on Thursday but Australian taxpayers will be picking up the nearly $300,000 bill.

Mr Turnbull will deliver the keynote address at the Australia Week in China gala lunch as part of his first prime ministerial visit to the middle kingdom.

The lunch is the grand finale of the week-long event designed to showcase Australian trade, investment and tourism opportunities.

But it won't be cheap.