Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said during a meeting with Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing on Friday that the two countries still had “something to do before establishing relations.” normal business in all areas”.
“We can see benefits for businesses and consumers in Australia and China from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement” reached in 2015, Farrell added.
In 2020, China imposed trade restrictions on the import of wine, meat, barley, coal, cotton, fish and timber from Australia, and Canberra continues its efforts to lift some of these restrictions and stabilize diplomatic relations.
In January, Beijing allowed four government-backed companies to import Australian coal and trade has now fully resumed.
Australia also agreed in April to suspend a case it filed with the World Trade Organization over China’s anti-dumping duties on barley imports, while China said it would speed up the process. tariff review.
“Australia has always preferred dialogue to dispute,” Farrell told the Chinese minister during the meeting on the current WTO case, adding that he could “see the benefits of dialogue in the agreements that we have concluded and find a way to compromise”.
In April, China took steps to resolve a trade dispute with Australia over barley. Australian officials said China would review duties on Australian barley imports in the coming months.
The row between Australia and China arose during the pandemic, when the previous Australian government angered Beijing by calling for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, which was first discovered in China. . This prompted him to impose various restrictions on some of the Australian imports.
Recently, the new government in Canberra, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party, has sought to restore relations with Beijing, which is Australia’s largest trading partner and buyer of much of its mineral ore. iron.
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