(MENAFN- QNA) Australia looks set to sign a free-trade agreement with China, the deal expected to be clinched by the end of the year.
The Australian newspaper reported on Monday that the agreement could be finalized around the time of the G20 meeting in Brisbane in November when Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet twice that month.
They are scheduled to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co- operation Forum in Beijing and later in Australia, where Xi will attend the G20 and address parliament.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb told The Australian that after almost a decade of negotiations he believed there was sufficient political will on both sides to finally conclude a free-trade agreement. But there were no guarantees and he described the final stages of any trade negotiation as always the toughest.
Robb said Monday that "solid progress" had been made at formal negotiations at the start of this month when Xi visited Australia.
Further delays to an FTA with China would result in Australian dairy exports losing more vital ground to key competitor New Zealand, said Robb.
Australia continues to push to cut barriers to entry to the Chinese market for agriculture and services. China wants improved investment access, tariff reductions on household items such as electronics, and gains on people movements to Australia.
Australia will offer China the same 970-million-US dollar foreign-investment screening threshold for private investment as that given to South Korea, Japan, the US and New Zealand.
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