Australian officials to travel to China for trade talks
Dominic Giannini and Joanna Guelas |
Australian officials will travel to China to discuss trade as the Albanese government pushes Beijing to drop its unofficial sanctions.
The officials will visit China next week after the two nations received the World Trade Organisation’s ruling on Australia’s complaint about Chinese barley tariffs on Friday.
The report has not been made public.
China has continuously said Australia needed to express goodwill and drop the WTO complaint to bolster the relationship.
Canberra is open to dropping the case.
“We have indicated to China and indicated publicly … if these matters can be resolved by discussion and agreement then that’s in the interests of both Australia and China,” Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres said on Friday.
“If there’s progress and it’s in the national interest, well, we are absolutely prepared to deal with these issues by agreement.
“If there can’t be agreement, then that’s what the WTO appeal process is for.”
The delegation to Beijing will come after Senator Ayres travelled to China to attend the Bo’ao Forum.
“There has been some progress – shipments of Australian coal have arrived in Chinese ports, there’s been some changes in terms of cotton and timber,” Senator Ayres told ABC Radio.
“But we are still a long way away from securing a complete return to normal trade … and we’re very focused on returning the trade to normal.”
Trade Minister Don Farrell met virtually with his Chinese counterpart last month and accepted an invitation to travel to China, although no date has been set.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong also visited China in December last year, discussing trade sanctions and the plight of a detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei.
The government’s anger at Ms Cheng’s detention was reinvigorated on Friday, which marked the first anniversary of her secret trial.
Senator Wong said there were still deep concerns for Ms Cheng and her family.
The Chinese-born television host was imprisoned in 2020 after being charged with “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”.
Ms Cheng moved to Melbourne as a child and served as a prominent news anchor for Chinese state-owned news channel China Global Television Network.
Her case was heard in a closed trial after 19 months in detention, despite calls by the government to afford Ms Cheng “basic standards of justice”.
Australia’s ambassador Graham Fletcher was denied access to the court due to the case involving “national secrets”.
Ms Cheng’s sentencing has been delayed a fourth time and is now set for April 19.
Her partner Nick Coyle asked Australians to “spare a thought” for her.
“Today marks a year since she was secretly put on trial … Still no closer to a verdict or timeline which is difficult on everyone,” he said in a Twitter post on Friday.
Mr Coyle also called on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to raise the issue during his trip to China on Monday.
Mr Andrews said he would not involve himself in the situation.
The case has been raised multiple times in bilateral meetings with foreign counterparts, including by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter at last year’s G20 summit.
AAP
