FTA to further boost China-Australia trade ties

CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced on Monday that during his visit to China early next month, he will discuss the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Australia as well as the upcoming Australian Week to be held in China, media reported Tuesday.

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Aside from China, Abbott will also visit Japan and South Korea.

When delivering his Government Work Report to the National People's Congress in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China will accelerate negotiations for an FTA with Australia.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb said Premier Li's comments were " most encouraging and highly welcomed."

"The world is acutely aware of the opportunities presented by China. So we need to do all we can to lock in our trading assessment relationship if we are to protect and grow our access to China in the years and the decades ahead," Robb said.

The Australian media have also lauded the Chinese leader's message, saying that the FTA would further boost the two countries' business relations.

Mainstream newspaper, The Australian, commented that a deal with China, Australia's biggest trading partner, would be "a boon for the nation's agricultural exports, such as beef and dairy."

The FTA is also expected to open the lucrative Chinese market to Australia's financial services, legal services, education and telecommunications, Robb said.

It is a shared view in Australia that China's urbanization and industrialization have partly fueled Australia's economic growth in the last decade and helped Australia dodge the financial crisis that swept the whole Western economies.

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