Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull — who last month criticized Chinese military deployments in the South China Sea — is to travel with 1,000 business leaders to China next week, hoping to build on a free-trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Turnbull is to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) in Beijing, hoping to capitalize on China’s transition from an export-based economy to a major consumer spender, his office said on Friday.
It did not say if the South China Sea would be on the agenda, but China’s assertiveness in its claims to most of the waters has raised concerns in the West and among China’s neighbors.
Turnbull last month called China’s military deployments “counterproductive,” an unusually forceful rebuke.
The trade visit — the largest ever by an Australian leader — comes amid a slowing of growth in the Chinese economy, which is crucial for Australian jobs.
The free-trade agreement came into effect in December last year, cutting tariffs across many economic sectors.
“The China-Australia FTA has opened up even more opportunities for trade and engagement between our two countries,” Turnbull’s office said in a statement. “As China continues its transition towards a more consumer-led and services-based economy, more and more Australian businesses are finding new markets and new opportunities in China.”
A delegation of 15 corporate chief executives from each country is to participate in a round table headed by the Business Council of Australia and the China Development Bank. The prime minister’s office declined to name the companies taking part.
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