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China-Australia economic and trade ties 'back on track' as ministers talk
Updated 19:19, 06-Feb-2023
CGTN

China's commerce minister and his Australian counterpart on Monday conducted "professional, pragmatic and candid" exchanges of views on how to address each side's economic and trade concerns during a virtual meeting, in a key step toward bringing bilateral relations in economy and trade back on track.

During the talks with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said as important economic and trade partners, China and Australia are highly complementary in economic structures and that their bilateral economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win, according to a statement released by the ministry.

Noting that the two countries are now facing an important window period for economic and trade relations, Wang urged both sides to work together to inject more positive factors into economic and trade cooperation.

"This meeting is an important step for us to jointly bring China-Australia economic and trade relations back on the right track," said Wang.

For his part, Farrell also noted the complementarity between Australia's economy and China's and underscored that trade and investment are important cornerstones of the bilateral relationship since China is Australia's largest trading partner and an important source of investment.

Australia and China both support the rules-based multilateral trading system, he said, adding that his country is willing to work with China to enhance mutual trust and resolve differences through candid dialogue for the benefit of the two peoples.

Farrell accepted Wang's invitation to visit China in the near future and said he is looking forward to the trip.

Wider cooperation

Monday's meeting was a follow-up to implement the consensus reached between the countries' leaders when they met in Bali, Indonesia in November.

Wang said, in the next stage, both sides should follow the direction set by the leaders' meeting, work together to strengthen communication and coordination in the economic and trade fields, and find a win-win solution to each side's concerns.

China is willing to restart the economic and trade exchange mechanism with Australia, he said.

The country will expand cooperation in emerging areas such as climate change and new energy with Australia to promote the high-quality development of economic and trade relations between the two countries, said Wang.

He added that China is highly concerned about the security review of Chinese enterprises' investment and operation in Australia and hopes that Australia will properly handle the relevant cases and provide Chinese enterprises with a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment.

Farrell said Australia welcomes high-quality investment from other countries, including China, and looks forward to further expanding cooperation with China in areas such as climate change and renewable energy.

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