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China-Australia free trade talks go ahead: report

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-21 08:09

Free trade talks between China and Australia will go ahead in Beijing next month despite rocky relations between the two countries, Australia's Trade Minister Simon Crean was reported as saying on Friday.

Ties have soured over Australia's grant of a visa to Rebiya Kadeer, the alleged mastermind of the July riots in Urumqi in which almost 200 people were killed,  and the arrest of an Australian Rio Tinto mining executive and three other Rio staff on allegations of commercial espionage.

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But Crean said a decision last week during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming underscored the strong commercial ties between Canberra and its biggest export partner.

"I don't think (the current political row) is dangerous. I can't stand this view of life that we have to fear the Chinese," Crean told the Australian Financial Review newspaper in an interview.

The talks will be the 14th round of negotiations and Crean said China had accepted that a free trade agreement would have to include agriculture, long a sticking point in talks.

Two-way trade between Australia and China was worth $53 billion last year and both countries agreed to commence negotiations on a free trade deal in May 2005, with the last round of talks held last December.

But progress has been slow with the Chinese demanding more freedom to invest in Australian resources, but happy to keep at bay efficient Australian farmers. Canberra in turn wants better access to Chinese consumers for Australian goods and services.

Crean said his talks with Chen had been frank and cordial, with the tone of discussions "strongly positive". He said this week's $41.5 billion deal to sell liquefied natural gas to PetroChina underscored the strength of ties with China.

Major Australian exports to China in 2008 included iron ore, wool, copper ore and manganese.