Albanese Confirms Date of 4th Visit to China, Spruiks Trade Relationship
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will travel to China this weekend for his second official visit, aiming to reinforce trade ties and cooperation on the digital economy and green energy.
Speaking in Tasmania on July 8, Albanese said he would visit Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu during the week-long trip, which begins July 12.
“China’s an important trading partner for Australia—25 percent of our exports go to China. What that means is jobs, and one of the things that my government prioritises is jobs,” he said.
Albanese Touts Trade Relations
Albanese said the government would continue prioritising economic interests, with a focus on removing trade barriers and expanding future-facing industries.“We have a free trade agreement with China, which was signed by the Coalition when they were in office. What we have done is get rid of more than $20 billion worth of impediments—goods that were stopped from going to China,” he said.
“That’s made an enormous difference. Products like wine and barley have not just bounced back—they’ve bounced back higher than they were before.”
That $20 billion of trade impediments was introduced by Beijing on Australia in 2020 in response to calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.
In response to the CCP ambassador’s push for Australia and China to cooperate on developing artificial intelligence, the prime minister said, “Well, we will determine our policy.”
“We have a free trade agreement, and my priority is jobs.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers also spoke positively about the government’s stabilisation efforts with China, saying they had already paid off economically.
Opposition Backs Visit, Urges Mutual Respect
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley welcomed the trip and said it was a chance to reinforce respectful bilateral ties.“It is an important visit, and it should underline the respectful relationship that we need to have with China,” she told The Guardian.
Time to Cancel Australia-China Free Trade Deal
Meanwhile, commercial lawyer Dan Ryan, who has long experience working in China and Hong Kong, said it was time for Australia to consider backing away from the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) 10 years after it was initially signed.“It’s had a massive consequence on our industrial capacity, like we have been hollowed out industrially in Australia. We used to produce a lot more things the nation needs,” he told The Epoch Times. Ryan formerly served as a board member on the Australia-China Council and is fluent in Mandarin.
“Some people defend ChAFTA saying, ‘Look, the value of our trade has increased so much more since it was signed.’ But what they fail to recognise is, that’s all mineral exports, that’s iron or coal and the rest of it, which are completely outside of ChAFTA anyway.
“Manufactured goods is the key thing.”
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