Australia’s trade minister praised “positive momentum” after talks in Beijing Friday, on the heels of a trip intended to bring an end to years of harsh sanctions and restrictions.
During the visit, Trade Minister Don Farrell held extensive discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in the first face-to-face meeting of its kind since 2019.
“I’m very pleased to confirm that we agreed to step up dialogue under our free trade agreement and other platforms to resolve our outstanding issues,” Farrell said at a press conference after the conclusion of talks.
Farrell also said that Wang had accepted his invitation to visit Australia, so the two sides could “continue to build on the positive momentum of our trade relationships and discussions today”.
China slapped hefty tariffs on key Australian exports such as barley, beef and wine in 2020, leveraging its economic muscle at the height of a bitter dispute with the former conservative government.
It also stopped imports of some of Australia’s most significant export commodities, including coal, curbing billions of dollars in trade.
Farrell — who before the trip said he would seek “unimpeded” trade during his visit to China — did not indicate during the Friday press conference any plans to immediately remove sweeping restrictions on certain key exports.
“We also discussed the World Trade Organization disputes,” said Farrell, adding that he was pleased to get reassurances that a deal reached last month on barley “remains on track”.
“I also reiterated that we expect a similar process to be followed with the WTO dispute in respect to Australian wine,” he said.
China had been angered by Australia’s legislation against overseas influence operations, its barring Huawei from 5G contracts and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Their icy relations appear to have thawed since Australia‘s centre-left government adopted a less confrontational approach to China following its election a year ago.
Australia called last week for one of its nationals — jailed journalist Cheng Lei — to be reunited with her family after 1,000 days in detention in China.
Farrell said Friday that he had raised the case during his talks with Wang.
