6月18日，中國商務部部長高虎城在《中國日報》發表署名文章，闡述了中澳自貿協定帶來的發展機遇和產生的積極影響。以下為雙語對照全文：

On June 17, 2015, the much-anticipated China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was formally signed in Canberra, Australia. It is a significant event in China-Australia relations. Chinese and Australian leaders were fully committed to the FTA negotiations. President Xi Jinping reached an important consensus with his Australian counterpart on speeding up the negotiations and signing the FTA agreement at an early date. Premier Li Keqiang personally pushed the negotiation process forward.
6月17日，在兩國各界翹首企盼下，中澳自貿協定在堪培拉正式簽署。這是兩國關系中的一件大事。中澳兩國領導人高度重視自貿協定談判。習近平主席在兩國領導人會晤中，與澳方就加快談判、早日簽署自貿協定達成重要共識。李克強總理親自推動相關談判進程。

As Chinese and Australian leaders pointed out in their congratulatory messages, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, once signed, will provide a higher platform and stronger institutional safeguards for closer, complementary and win-win cooperation. It will help promote the economic integration process in the Asia-Pacific region as well as deeper integration and common development of the Asia-Pacific economies.
正如兩國領導人在互致賀信中提出的，中澳自貿協定的簽署將為兩國實現優勢互補和密切互利合作，提供更高的平臺和更完善的制度保障，也將有助于推動亞太經濟一體化進程，促進亞太地區各經濟體的深度融合和共同發展。

China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is one of the most progressive FTAs in trade and investment liberalization either has ever signed. China and Australia have made high-level commitments to each other on trade in goods, trade in services, investment and rules, meeting the objective proposed by Chinese and Australian leaders for a comprehensive and high-standard agreement with balanced interests.
中澳自貿協定，是兩國迄今已商簽的自貿協定中貿易投資自由化整體水平最高的自貿協定之一。中澳雙方在貨物貿易、服務貿易、投資和規則等各個領域，相互做出了高水平承諾，實現了兩國領導人提出的全面、高質量和利益平衡的目標。

A more open environment for market access. Compared with the liberalization level of around 90 percent in FTAs in general, China-Australia FTA shows a substantially higher level of openness in trade in goods. At the end of the staging period, 100 percent of Australian products to China in terms of both tariff lines and trade volume will enjoy duty-free treatment, and close to 97 percent of Chinese products to Australia in terms of tariff lines and 97 percent of trade volume will be duty-free.
更加開放的準入環境。與一般自貿協定中90%左右的自由化水平相比，中澳自貿協定的貨物領域開放程度大大提升。澳方所有產品最終零關稅比例在稅目和貿易額上均將達到100%，中方最終稅目和貿易額零關稅比例也將分別接近和達到97%。

This means that consumers will have access to more high-quality agricultural, energy, mineral and finished industrial goods imported from the other country at lower prices. On the investment front, the two countries will accord MFN treatment to each other, open wider the services sector, and significantly lower the threshold for investment review. Such substantive measures will boost bilateral cooperation in a wide range of sectors, from infrastructure, energy and resources, to finance, tourism and agriculture.
這意味著，兩國消費者將因此獲得更多質優價廉的進口農產品、能礦產品、工業制成品。在投資領域，雙方相互給予最惠國待遇，擴大服務業開放，同時大幅降低企業投資審查門檻。這些實質性的舉措，將強有力推進兩國在基礎設施、能源資源、金融、旅游以及農業等各個領域的合作，為雙邊經貿關系發展增添新動力。

A more enabling business environment. In the agreement, China and Australia have explored in a pragmatic way further opening in multiple sectors, including e-commerce, intellectual property, government procurement and trade facilitation, some of which have reached the highest level of liberalization so far.
更加便利的營商環境。中澳自貿協定在電子商務、知識產權、政府采購和貿易便利化等諸多領域，進行了務實探索，部分領域達到了目前最高水平。

Take e-commerce as an example. The agreement provides for duty-free e-commerce transactions, protects online consumers and data, and encourages the use of digital certificates, which will make online trading easier for both businesses and consumers from the two countries. Australia will set up a new facilitation scheme for Chinese engineers and technicians to work in Chinese invested projects in Australia, which is the first time that such a special arrangement is offered by a developed country to China. These substantive facilitation measures are sure to further improve the business environment and incentivize mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
以電子商務為例，協定涵蓋了電子交易免征關稅、為在線消費者和在線數據提供保護、鼓勵使用數字證書等相關內容，將為兩國企業和消費者帶來巨大便利。澳方還專門針對中方投資項下工程和技術人員赴澳設立新的便利機制，系發達國家首次對中國作出特殊便利安排。這些實質性的便利化舉措，必將營造更優質的營商環境，激發兩國開展互利合作的新動能。

Closer people-to-people and cultural exchanges. While boosting the commercial ties, the FTA will also deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges at various levels. Australia will provide working holiday visas to 5,000 young people from China every year, which will allow the holders to stay in Australia for up to 12 months. Besides, Australia will offer an annual entry quota of 1,800 people for occupations with Chinese characteristic, including TCM practitioners, Chinese language teachers, Chinese chefs and martial arts coaches, who can stay in Australia for up to 4 years. This will further boost people-to-people exchanges.
更加密切的人文交流。中澳自貿協定在促進雙邊經貿合作發展的同時，也將深化兩國在各個層面的人文交流。澳方為中國青年赴澳提供每年5000人的假日工作簽證，獲得該簽證的中國青年可在澳居留12個月。此外，澳方給予中國特色職業人員每年共1800人的入境配額，涉及中醫、漢語教師、中餐廚師和武術教練等諸多領域，相關人員在澳停留期限最長可達4年。這將進一步促進兩國民間往來。

China-Australia FTA has set a successful example for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Though both are major economies in the world, China is the largest developing country whereas Australia is a mature developed economy. The two countries have distinctively different cultural backgrounds, different levels of development, complementary industrial structures and some differences in values. After a decade of negotiations, China and Australia have eventually reached a comprehensive and high-standard Free Trade Agreement with balanced interests. The agreement is not only an embodiment of the bright prospects of complementary and win-win cooperation between the two countries, but also, in itself, a step forward towards more inclusive and diversified global economic governance.
中澳自貿協定樹立了亞太區域合作的成功典范。中澳同為世界主要經濟體，但中國是最大的發展中國家，澳大利亞是成熟的發達經濟體，兩國文化背景迥異，發展水平不同，產業結構互補，在一些價值觀念方面也存在差異。歷經10年談判，中澳最終達成一個全面、高質量和利益平衡的自貿協定，不僅折射出兩國優勢互補和合作共贏的廣闊前景，其本身也是推動更具包容性、多元化全球經濟治理的積極實踐。

China-Australia FTA has made pragmatic explorations in many areas of opening-up. Take trade in services for example, which is a stumbling block in international trade negotiations. The two countries have vastly different administrative regimes and core concerns. But through candid and practical consultations, Australia finally agreed to open its services sector in a negative-list approach, while China, based on its WTO accession commitments, will open part of its services sector in a positive-list approach and commit to adopting a negative-list approach in future negotiations with Australia in this area.
中澳自貿協定在諸多開放領域進行了務實探索。以服務貿易這一國際經貿談判難點為例，兩國管理體制大相徑庭，彼此各有核心關切。但中澳經過坦誠、務實的交流，澳方最終同意對中方以負面清單方式開放服務部門，中方則在入世承諾基礎上，以正面清單方式向澳方開放部分服務部門，并承諾在未來通過負面清單模式與澳方開展服務貿易談判。

China-Australia FTA is a major step towards Asia-Pacific economic integration. The 22nd APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in 2014 decided to launch the process of building the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (APFTA). It requires the concerted efforts of all parties to fulfill this vision. Now a free trade agreement has been signed between two major economies - China and Australia, and the two sides have agreed to jointly explore the further opening of the services sector by adopting a negative-list approach. It is the shared belief of the two countries that China-Australia FTA, once upgraded, will be a strong boost to the development of high-level economic and trade arrangement in the Asia-Pacific region, and play a leading and demonstration role in the further opening up of the region.
中澳自貿協定是亞太經濟一體化進程中邁出的重要一步。2014年亞太經合組織第二十二次領導人非正式會議，決定啟動亞太自貿區進程，實現這一愿景需要各方共同努力。目前，中澳兩大經濟體之間簽署了自貿協定，雙方還約定未來以“負面清單”方式，共同探討服務領域的開放升級。相信中澳自貿協定的“升級版”，將有力促進亞太地區發展高水平的經貿安排，為推動本區域進一步開放發揮引領和示范效應。

（作者：商務部部長高虎城，編輯 Helen）