Chinese ambassador urges Australia to recognize benefits of FTA, strong bilateral ties

Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, has urged the Australians to recognize the benefits of the Free Trade Agreement signed by the two countries 100 days ago and strong bilateral relations in general.

Calling the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) officially signed on June 17 a new-born baby, Ma said ChAFTA is "a comprehensive, high-quality and balanced agreement," "a milestone in bilateral ties, marking a historic high in strengthening political trust and practical cooperation between China and Australia."

Ma noted that China-Australia ties have been as strong as ever, with China claiming at least nine No. 1s, namely China being Australia's largest trading partner, export market, source of import, source of trade surplus, market of agricultural export, destination of services export, source of foreign investment between 2013-14, source of tourism value and source of overseas students.

Steve Ciobo, Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, said the allegations about ChAFTA will cost Australian jobs can be put to rest.

He said the inflow of Chinese skilled workers under ChAFAT and their working conditions will also subject to existing laws and regulations.

Ma said the signing of ChAFTA and Australia's sign-up to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) underline significant progress in bilateral cooperation.

"The two countries have reached consensus in docking China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative with Australia's White Paper to develop its North. Recently, the two countries signed protocols to allow China's import of live cattle from Australia," Ma said.

Trade and investment cooperation has been strengthened and upgraded. Resources and energy sector maintains steady growth, while cooperation is booming in areas such as services, agriculture and infrastructure.

"In spite of a less-than-perfect economic environment, China- Australia trade was 12.6 billion Australian dollars in July, up 12 percent year on year, of which 7.4 billion Australian dollars were Australian exports to China, accounting for 34.45 percent of total Australian exports for the month."

In the coming five years, China is estimated to import a total of 10 trillion U.S. dollar worth of merchandise from around the world, and make outbound investment of more than 500 billion U.S. dollars.

While Australia only takes up one percent and 15 percent respectively in this huge market, based on the 2014 figures, a great deal of potential is yet to be tapped, Ma said.

"The China-Australia relationship is not about buying and selling. It has grown far beyond economics and trade," Ma said.

Mechanisms like annual bilateral meetings between heads of government, Foreign and Strategic Dialogue, Strategic Economic Dialogue and others have been put in place to enhance understanding and trust.

Military to military exchanges are also stepped up, with more joint military exercises and training. A new round of Defense Strategic Consultation 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.

There is also growing popular support for China-Australia bilateral relationship. A recent poll shows that over 70 percent of Australians support closer ties with China.

Currently, around 240,000 Chinese students are studying in Australia. Likewise, many Australian students applaud the New Colombo Plan under which they are given chances to study in China.

"With the number of Australian students pursuing education and internships in China reaching 900 by 2016, China is set to become the most attractive destination under the New Colombo Plan," Ma said. Endi