Trade with Australia can grow, Xi says

China and Australia have important shared interests and plenty of room for cooperation, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

His comments, made during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the G20 summit, came a week after the Australian Senate passed landmark bilateral free trade agreement legislation.

On Nov 9, the Senate passed bills related to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, paving the way for Australia to sign the agreement into law. The pact, signed in June, followed 10 years of negotiations between the two countries.