Australia is likely to begin negotiating a free-trade agreement with China after a preliminary study was finalized last week, Australia's prime minister said yesterday.
Negotiations are expected to begin if the preliminary study convinces both countries that such a trade pact would be in their interests.
Prime Minister John Howard said Australia would have to recognize China as a market economy at the outset of negotiations and China would have to agree that all industries were on the negotiating table.
"I believe there's a good chance" negotiations will begin, Howard told Australian Broadcasting Corp television.
Howard is expected to formally launch the talks when he visits Beijing next month.
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said yesterday a free-trade pact with China could be worth tens of billions of dollars to Australia.
"There's a unique opportunity that's presenting itself to Australia as a nation to consolidate our position in a trading relationship that is our third largest trading relationship, that with China," Vaile said.
Australia giving China market economy status would set an important precedent for China.
Last year, the EU refused to recognize China as a market economy, saying there was still too much government interference in business.
Australia has told China it would not consider China a market economy if it excluded industries such as its subsidized agricultural and services sectors from the deal.
"We're going to have a Cabinet meeting to decide whether we're going to commence the discussions. As of now we haven't conceded anything," Howard said.
"If we do concede market economy status, it will be in return for everything being on the table and also a very comprehensive agreement at the end," he said.
China is a major buyer of Australian iron ore, coal and natural gas, and its imports of these raw materials are surging as its energy needs grow.
Australia is also eager to ship more farm products such as grains and citrus fruits, but China considers itself a developing country in terms of agriculture and subsidizes its impoverished farmers.
China is Australia's third-largest and fastest-growing trading partner and fourth-largest export market. Trade between the two countries has quadrupled in the last decade. Last year, trade between the two countries was worth A$28.9 billion (US$23 billion).
Australia believes a free-trade accord with China could be more lucrative than a free-trade agreement with the US which began in January this year.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS