The deal is coming, how big China Market, They need large quantity Quality Beef
From AFR China and Australia to deal on beef, energy and security
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Australia from Wednesday to Sunday. Ng Han Guan
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by Laura Tingle
Australia and China will escalate the push for a regional trade deal, as well as sign new bilateral agreements on beef exports, energy and security when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Canberra and Sydney for an annual leaders meeting.
But while the focus of most of the talks between the Chinese leader, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and federal cabinet will involve trade, Australia is expected to once again stress that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved in accordance with international law, as well as discuss the escalation in North Korea's program of missile launches.
Writing in today's The Australian Financial Review, Mr Turnbull welcomes the Mr Li – who has visited Australia in 1996 and again as Vice Premier in 2009 – and China as advocates of trade liberalisation at a time of global uncertainty and "of increasingly loud voices calling for a retreat from the project of global economic liberalisation into protectionism"
"My government remains committed to championing trade liberalisation", Mr Turnbull says
"I welcomed President Xi Jinping's robust defence of open markets in Davos. I will talk to Premier Li about how Australia and China can progress this agenda in the Asia-Pacific, including by working to conclude the most ambitious Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership possible between ASEAN and its six FTA partners".
The visit comes as talks over the Trans Pacific Partnership deal have stalled after the Trump administration rejected the plan
"Premier Li's visit provides an important opportunity to discuss the range of our bilateral, regional and global interests – and to advance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership", he says.
The new deals to be signed during the Premier's visit will build on the free trade agreement which came into operation 15 months ago and will offer improved market access to Australian beef producers, by increasing the number of producers licensed to export there.
"As China transitions to a more sustainable, consumer-driven economy, Australia has a new historic opportunity – underpinned by ChAFTA – to meet Chinese demand for high-quality and safe food, beverages and consumer items, as well as for high-end services", the Prime Minister says.
"As Australia's largest trading partner and a major investor in Australia, China contributes directly to our prosperity—supporting the jobs and growth agenda that is at the heart of my Government. As the world's second-largest economy, China has an important role to play on the global and regional issues that matter most to Australia."
Mr Turnbull will encourage China to move ahead with a substantial reform agenda at a time when the IMF has expressed growing concern about the build-up of substantial state and corporate debt in China.
"Economic reform is an arduous process, but one that leads to sustainable growth", Mr Turnbull says. "Australia's experience bears this out. It is critical, not only to China but also to the Australian and global economies, that China moves ahead with its substantial reform agenda."
(20min delay)
