Trade With China: Australia pleased with headway in pact

BEIJING: Australia said on Saturday it was pleased with progress on a long-planned free trade agreement with China and that it would be happy to conclude it by next week when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits. Xi will attend the G20 summit in Brisbane next week and then make a formal state visit. “I understand that our negotiators are very pleased with the progress,” Australian Foreign Minister told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade of around $150 billion in 2013. The two countries are in the final stages of reaching a free trade agreement that Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants signed by the end of the year, after nearly 10 years of negotiations. Trade talks have been hampered by Beijing’s concerns over opening its markets to Australian food.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2014.

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