PM to take a hard line on trade with China

“The Prime Minister is convinced and determined to put dialogue and engagement at the core of how we deal with China.”
Despite the re-engagement, the government, under its mantra of “cooperating where we can and disagreeing where we must”, is expected to take China to task over trade in his talks in Beijing with President Xi Jinping on Monday, and Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.
China has lifted, or will lift, most of the $20 billion in coercive trade bans that were imposed on Australian imports as relations reached a nadir during the tenure of the Turnbull and Morrison governments.
There remains about $2.5 billion in bans, including on wine, that the Chinese have indicated they will lift in five months, leaving unresolved bans on seafood and beef.
Australia believes these coercive bans breached the terms of the bilateral free trade deal reached between the two countries in 2014 when Tony Abbott was prime minister.
“It’s really important that we reinvigorate the mechanisms under that FTA including for dispute resolution,” said the official.
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More broadly, Mr Albanese will push Beijing on the importance of adhering to rules-based trade globally, as China’s trade practices are driving resistance towards its entry to the CTPP, or Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
China is seeking entry to the agreement, which now includes 12 members with the recent admission of the United Kingdom, and will ask Mr Albanese for Australia’s support.
‘High standard agreement’
But every member must agree to allow a new entrant and, contrary to a recent report in the South China Morning Post that Australia will shift from opposing China’s entry to not opposing it, the official said there had been, and would be, no change.
Entry to the CPTPP requires the agreement of all members and Japan is the most opposed.
“Australia’s position on that is, as the prime minister and [Trade] Minister [Don] Farrell and others have articulated, is it’s a very high standard trade agreement and any new accession must be done on the basis of unanimity,” the official said.
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“An incoming partner would need to meet the highest possible standards.
“We are focusing on a reasonably young trade agreement. We’re focusing now on bedding down the current partners.”
Writing for The Australian Financial Review, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, said the bilateral relationship was “at a critical juncture of setting off and sailing off again”, and he listed talks on the CPTPP as an important element. Mr Xi raised this with Mr Albanese when they met in Indonesia in November last year.
‘Crucial understandings’
“To begin with, we should advance the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership along the right track,” the ambassador wrote.
“Last November, during the official meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Xi and Albanese reached crucial understandings on the advancement of the China-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which charted the way forward for our bilateral ties.”
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China, he said, was also keen to discuss cooperation on energy, mining, agriculture, education and tourism, as well as addressing climate change, developing new energy and building green infrastructure.
“[Mr] Albanese’s visit to China is one with great significance as we are standing at a new starting point of another 50 years for bilateral relations.
“We should join hands with each other for a better future. Both sides should take a strategic and long-term perspective, preserve mutual respect and understanding, handle differences in a proper manner, go beyond stability, and constantly improve, uphold and further develop bilateral relations.”
While in China, Mr Albanese will also raise human rights, “consular issues including the ongoing detention of dual citizen Yang Henjung, and concerns with China’s encroachment in the South and East China Seas”.
He flies to Shanghai on Saturday and, with Senator Farrell, will spend the day there on Sunday where he will attend the Chinese International Import Expo.
The expo will feature about 200 Australian businesses hoping to benefit from the restoration of the relationship. These cover the fields of food, agriculture, beverages, distilling, beauty products, resources, wine, seafood, and healthcare. The Victorian and Queensland governments will have their own stands there as well.
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Mr Albanese will be in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday for official talks and will be given an official welcome on Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.