Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell has been invited to China,furthering government hopes that sanctions and tariffs on Australian exports including beef,wine,lobsters and barley are a step closer to being removed.
The invitation came this afternoon following a virtual meeting between Farrell and his Chinese counterpart,Wang Wentao.
In the video meeting,Farrell told Wang that both countries would benefit from the trade. Wang said he wanted the countries to work together,and invited Farrell to visit China.
“I believe your next trip to China will leave you with a different impression,” Wang said. “I am looking forward to professional,candid and practical exchanges of views.”
Wang said the priority of the meeting should be to build mutual trust.
“I wish to stress we will face up to the issues but at the same time this meeting cannot resolve all of these issues,” he said.
Farrell later said he accepted the invitation to travel to Beijing in the near future.
“Our discussion covered a range of trade and investment issues,including the need for resumption of unimpeded trade for Australian exporters so that Chinese consumers can continue to benefit from high-quality Australian products,” he said.
“Minister Wang and I agreed to enhance dialogue at all levels,including between officials,as a pathway towards the timely and full resumption of trade.
China’s restrictions,which have been in place since 2021,have hampered $20 billion worth of trade for Australian producers. China is Australia’s largest bilateral trading partner and accounts for nearly