Chinese ambassador urges Australia not to let China-Australia FTA slip away

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Ma Zhaoxu urges Australia not to let China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) slip away in an opinion piece published on influential newspaper The Australian on Tuesday.

Marking the 100th day of the official signing of the deal on June 17, the ambassador hailed ChAFTA as a "comprehensive, high- quality and balanced agreement," and "a milestone in our bilateral ties, marking a historic high in strengthening political trust and practical co-operation."

"ChAFTA is a win-win agreement for three reasons. It will lend fresh impetus to trade growth. It will create new opportunities to expand two-way investment. And it will open up new horizons for people-to-people exchanges," Ma says in the article.

"The sooner ChAFTA comes into force, the quicker it will benefit producers and consumers in both countries. It represents a hard-won and historic opportunity that should not be allowed to slip through our fingers."

The ambassador quotes an example given by Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb about Blackmores, an Australian health product company, which saw its sales to China skyrocket to 75 million AU dollars (52 million U.S. dollars) this year from just 2 million AU dollars (1.5 million U.S. dollars) the previous year.

"But that may be just like a peanut starter before a meal, if one thinks about a world of difference ChAFTA will make after it comes into force. Then, tariffs as high as 35 percent for Blackmores' exports to China will be completely removed, and the company foresees a further tenfold increase in its sales to Chinese consumers."

Ma notes that Chinese President Xi Jinping has just paid a historic state visit to the United States. The cooperation between China and the United States will serve as an anchor of global stability and propeller of world peace.

"The whole Asia-Pacific region stands to gain from stronger China-U.S. cooperation, Australia in particular," Ma says. "As important countries in the Asia-Pacific, China, the U.S. and Australia are partners, not rivals. We have a common responsibility to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity. We cannot deliver on this goal unless we work together focusing on our common interests rather than those distracting differences."

He also mentions the recent trilateral military exercise in the Northern Territory with the active participation of Chinese, American and Australian soldiers, the second of its kind in just one year. A new round of strategic defence consultations is to be held soon in Australia. A senior Chinese delegation is going to attend the Sea Power Conference here, and China's naval hospital ship Peace Ark will visit Australia soon.

As for the Chinese economy, Ma says that despite the complexity and volatility in the international environment and some downward pressure, in the first half of this year the Chinese economy grew by 7 percent. "Its absolute growth volume is still larger than those in earlier double-digit growth years."

What's more, the Chinese economic structure continues to improve. The services industry now accounts for almost half of total gross domestic product. Meeting the challenges head-on, China will see its economy transformed and become even more dynamic, resilient and sustainable in the long run. According to the International Monetary Fund statistics, in the first half of this year the Chinese economy contributed 29 percent to total world growth.

Ma notes that because of sluggish trade worldwide, commodity prices have been declining. That's why the value of China's imports decreased. But their physical volume still increased.

China-Australia ties have been as strong as ever. According to the 2014 Australia-China trade report issued by the Australia China Business Council, direct trade with China has contributed 5. 5 percent to Australian gross domestic product (GDP), double that of agriculture, forestry and fisheries combined.

Nearly 200,000 Australian jobs depend on direct exports to China. Chinese tourists contribute 7 billion AU dollars (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) to the Australian economy each year. For every five dollars spent by foreign tourists in Australia, one comes from Chinese tourists.

"China and Australia are different in history, culture, value, social systems and stage of development. It is only natural that we may not see eye-to-eye on all issues," Ma says.

"It is essential to address our disagreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality, accommodating each other's core interests and major concerns. Our relations will only grow deeper and stronger when our mutual trust continues to strengthen." Endi