Australia and China signed the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) on June 17, 2015, which will enter into force on December 20, 2015. Trade negotiations have yielded many future benefits for Australia`s business with Australia`s largest trading partner – China. Those who work in agriculture, manufacturing, services, investment, resources and energy benefit in particular. China has also agreed to a special clause recognizing Australia as a « most-favoured nation » (MFN). This gives Australian companies access to the same agreements that China enters into in free trade agreements with other countries (such as the UNITED States), which can provide better access to the Chinese market. Taiwan and Hong Kong [thematic link page: Australia and Australians in Greater China] have recently expressed interest in signing free trade agreements with Australia. The Australian government has not acceded to invitations from both regions to open negotiations. It is claimed that the ministry`s resources will be fully utilized in other trade deals, but commentators suspect that political sensitivities mean that Canberra will not begin such negotiations until CHAFTA is completely completed. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) entered into force on December 20, 2015. Australia`s Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, a signatory to the ChAFTA, said: « This historic agreement with our largest trading partner will support future economic growth, job creation and a higher standard of living through increased trade in goods and services and investment. China, with its population of 1.4 billion and rapidly growing middle class, offers huge opportunities for Australian businesses in the future. The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2015 that reduced tariffs and improved access to dozens of goods.

Australia has accused China of undermining its free trade agreement over a series of measures taken by Beijing against Australian exports. The full text of the agreement, as well as useful information and fact sheets on the free trade agreement, are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For specific questions about the agreement, email ChinaFTA@dfat.gov.au or call DFAT on 02 6261 1111. Importers can contact the Ministry of the Interior. Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, director of research at the Perth USAsia Center, said the free trade agreement signed by the Abbott government in 2015 was « not worth the paper it`s written on today » given the steps Beijing is taking. There will be a work and holiday agreement in which Australia will issue up to 5,000 visas to Chinese nationals for work and leisure travellers. [7] The free trade agreement was signed between the two countries in Canberra, Australia, on June 17, 2015. [4] The agreement will follow the usual treaty process, after which it will enter into force when China completes its domestic legal and legislative procedures, and in Australia review by the Australian Parliament`s Standing Joint Committee on Treaties and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References.

[4] Australia was the first country to launch a bilateral free trade process with China, with talks beginning in May 2005 following a joint feasibility study and Australia`s decision to grant China « market economy status » under World Trade Organization rules. At the time, it was estimated that a pure free trade and goods agreement would contribute $18 billion to bilateral GDP over a ten-year period. But the talks ended in a stalemate from mid-2007, and a formal agreement on chaFTA did not take place until after twenty-one rounds of negotiations. Finally, on November 17, 2014, Australia and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conclude the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (CHAFTA), following a number of other countries and regions. « The targeted nature of the Chinese government`s actions on Australian products raises concerns about compliance with the letter and spirit of its ChAFTA [Free Trade Agreement] and its WTO commitments, » he told the Australian Senate. Australia cannot move away from its free trade agreement with China as it seeks to repair « broken » relations, the shadow trade minister said, while accusing the coalition government of not establishing deep ties on the ground. .