China Australia Photo: VCG

 
Australian companies are now looking for early resumption of normal business operations in China, its largest trading partner, as the two countries are to greet the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

China-Australia Chamber of Commerce (AustCham China) and the broader Australian business community across China welcome the efforts from both sides to stabilize China-Australia relationship, Vaughn Barber, chairman of AustCham China, told the Global Times on Thursday.

“Fifty years of friendship provide a solid foundation for quickly returning to a more constructive dialogue. We’re very happy with the progress so far,” Barber said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong held the sixth China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday. Wong’s visit to Beijing marked the first formal talks in Beijing between the two nations’ top diplomats since 2018.

Noting the complementarity of the two economies and the broad prospects for China-Australia cooperation in various fields, Wang said the two sides should reach consensus and accelerate cooperation, expand common interests, and promote development and prosperity to further benefit the two peoples, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In a joint statement issued after the dialogue, the two foreign ministers agreed to maintain high-level engagement, commence or restart dialogue in areas including bilateral relations, trade and economic issues, and regional and international issues, and support people-to-people exchanges. 

“As COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed in China, AustCham is optimistic about the prospect of companies being able to resume normal business operations and anticipate that business executives will be able to visit China again. This will be positive for the future development of Australian business in China,” Barber said.

Despite China-Australian relations have experienced ups and downs over past few years, Barber believed bilateral trade remains strong. “This is the type of benefit that comes from the momentum of a 50-year diplomatic relationship,” he said.

However, the number of new import and export trade contracts from small and medium-sized companies has declined because the deals require people to create personal business links and trust, according to Barber. “Since the end of 2019, we have not seen any business delegations or trade visits,” he said.

It is widely believed that the important meeting between the leaders of China and Australia, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November, injected new impetus into bilateral relations.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and Australia saw stable development in 2021, with China remaining Australia’s largest trading partner in goods. Bilateral trade amounted to approximately $231.2 billion last year, a rise of 35.1 percent year-on-year, data from China’s Ministry of Commerce showed. China’s imports from Australia reached $164.82 billion in 2021, a jump of 40.6 percent from a year ago.

Looking ahead, Barber said: “In 2023, we expect Australian business delegations will return to China which will result in an increase in new deal flow and a subsequent increase in bilateral trade.”


Global Times