Australia's trade with China booming
June 25, 2006
Sydney - Australian Prime Minister John Howard's visit to China this week rides on the back of a booming trade relationship between the two countries.
Australian exports to China soared 46 percent to 16 billion Australian dollars ($12 billion in 2005 while imports rose 19 percent to 21 billion Australian dollars.
China is now Australia's second largest trading partner after Japan and the two nations are in negotiations over a free trade agreement.
The latest round of talks on a potential free trade deal took place in Beijing last month, with China agreeing to Australian demands to include all sectors of the economy in the negotiations.
If it goes ahead, it would be China's first free trade deal with a developed economy.
Much of the growth in Australian exports is attributed to natural resources vital to fuel China's booming economy, such as coal and iron ore, and the way was cleared this year for the start of uranium sales for nuclear power.
During his visit from Tuesday to Thursday, Howard and Premier Wen Jiabao will meet in the southern province of Guangdong to officially open a 25 billion dollar liquefied natural gas program.
The contract to supply gas to Guangdong for 25 years -- Australia's largest single trade deal -- got underway last month with the first shipment from the giant North West Shelf field off Western Australia.
Apart from the sale of resources, Australia is also seeking to capitalise on growing numbers of tourists and students from China, said Malcolm Cook, Asia-Pacific director for the Lowy Institute independent think-tank.
"Mainland Chinese are now the largest group of foreign students studying in Australia -- at around 40,000 -- and the analysis is that while tourism numbers are not great yet, in 10 years there might be up to a million Chinese visitors annually." - AFP
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