Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell will head to China on Thursday for the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ top trade officials since 2019 in yet another sign of warming relations between Beijing and Canberra.
(Bloomberg) — Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell will head to China on Thursday for the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ top trade officials since 2019 in yet another sign of warming relations between Beijing and Canberra.
Farrell will meet with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao “to progress the resolution of outstanding trade impediments,” according to his press statement ahead of the visit.
The two met virtually in February where Wang told his counterpart that “the freeze is over and we’re now moving to “a warm spring.” Since then, coal, cotton and copper trade have resumed, according to Farrell, and China said it will speed up review on duties imposed on Australian barley.
“During my visit I will be advocating strongly for the full resumption of unimpeded Australian exports to China – for all sectors – to the benefit of both countries and in the interests of Australian exporters and producers,” Farrell said.
This is the first visit by an Australian trade minister to China since November 2019 and bodes well for both economies, setting the stage for stronger diplomatic ties. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with the two-way trade in goods worth $287 billion in 2022.
Relations began to deteriorate in 2017 and dramatically worsened in April 2020 when then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19. China responded by targeting Australia’s exports of coal, wine, barley and lobsters while one of its diplomats complained that Australia was “doing the bidding of the US.”
Since Australia’s election of the center-left Labor government in May 2022, relations with Beijing are mending.
Farrell said in April he’s optimistic that punitive trade sanctions imposed by China on Australia’s exports could be lifted by the end of this year. During this trip, Australia’s trade chief said he will also meet with other Chinese political leaders and business representatives.
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