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Free trade talks to begin next year
By Wu Zhiyi (newsphoto)
Updated: 2004-08-18 09:18
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Australian
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer poses at a lecture at Tsinghua
University yesterday. Downer said progress on "a very ambitious proposal"
for a China-Australia free trade agreement was faster and smoother than
expected.
Completion of a feasibility study scheduled for October 2005 is now
expected by the middle of next year, Downer said.
China last year overtook the US to become Australia's second largest
export market.
Australia had a US$1 billion trade surplus on US$13.56 billion of trade
with China in 2003 because of increasing demand for Australian copper,
petroleum and iron ore.
A free trade agreement between Australia and China would be the first
China had done with a developed economy, Downer
said.[newsphoto] |
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