Iron ore Photo:VCG

China-Australia bilateral trade maintained strong momentum in the first 11 months of the year, rising 9.8 percent year-on-year to 1.464 trillion yuan ($210 billion), data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Thursday showed. 

The positive trend came amid improved economic and trade ties after meetings between the top leaders of the two countries during Australian Prime Minister Albanese's visit to China in early November, injecting impetus into thawing bilateral relations, experts said.

The recovery of more traded goods such as barley and timber in the second half of the year has also added fuel to the trade growth.

China-Australia trade has maintained a widely expected recovery trend, which was reflected in the GAC data. Australian goods exports to China, its biggest trading partner, rose by 14.6 percent, maintaining monthly double-digit growth since February.

Numbers don't lie, and these trade figures show the ongoing success of mutually beneficial cooperation, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that achieving this result was not easy, and it is inherently uplifting.

"Bilateral relations have essentially achieved stability and are transitioning from recovery to growth," Chen said.

Economic and trade relations form the cornerstone of China-Australia ties, acting as stabilizers and accelerators for the overall relationship. The data attests to the ongoing development of bilateral relations after the top meetings of the leaders of the two countries.

Following the two summits between the leaders of the two countries - the G20 Bali Summit in November last year and Albanese's visit to China in the early November this year - substantive resolutions to some issues in bilateral relations, particularly in the economic and trade domain -  have been achieved or are on the path to resolution.

Against this backdrop, more positive results have been consolidated under joint efforts. China resumed imports of Australian barley in October, which brought Australia quickly to the rank of China's second-largest source of barley imports in that month by value after France, GAC data showed.

Trade in coal, another key Australian export to China, has also gained momentum and is likely to set a new record by the end of this year, an industry insider told the Global Times.

"It is widely expected that Australian coal exports to China will exceed the 50-million-ton benchmark this year, putting Australia back in the top five for the first time since the resumption of trade early this year," Jia Na, an analyst at Today Think Tank, who has been closely following Australian coal trade with China, told the Global Times in a previous interview.

The Australian economy is experiencing stagflation, with severe inflation directly affecting people's lives, Chen said. 

"It is believed that the further warming of China-Australia economic and trade relations will play a crucial role in boosting the Australian economy, which is good news for the country… Australia needs to cherish the achievements made so far by both parties."

The upcoming New Year and the Chinese Spring Festival retail peak are expected to further boost Australian goods exports to the Chinese market.

As to closely watched trade issues involving Australian wine and lobster, Chen said that negotiations are continuing, with joint efforts being made to reach a solution as soon as possible.

"These products are expected to return to Chinese tables during some important festive periods next year," Chen said.