Australia reaffirmed its commitment to improving agricultural relations with China after a ministerial meeting, as Canberra praised progress to restore barley trade amid a thaw in diplomatic ties.
Australia said last week it had reached an agreement with China to resolve their dispute over barley imports, which followed Beijing’s January resumption of Australian coal purchases after nearly three years and a surge in beef imports.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said after a meeting with Chinese Vice Agriculture Minister Ma Youxiang in Canberra on Monday that resuming normal trade was in the interests of both countries.
Australia and china ministerial meeting
Watt said in a statement “I reiterated our clear and consistent position that all trade barriers affecting Australian exports should be removed, we also discussed bilateral issues, including trade and consular matters. Australia’s diplomatic relations with its largest trading partner have been severely strained since 2018, when it banned China’s Huawei from providing equipment during the rollout of its 5G network. Ties further soured after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19”.
China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities including wine and barley. But tensions eased after a centre-left Labor government returned to power in Australia last year. Ma Youxiang’s visit comes just days after Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu’s trip to Australia.
Chinese officials are showing a “sincere desire to cooperate” in removing punitive tariffs on Australian wine, Watt told The Australian. Australia expects to reach agreement with China on wine tariffs after deal on barley.
Wine exports to mainland China, which was Australia’s biggest market by value before Beijing imposed the tariffs, will fall to about A$12 million ($8 million) in 2022 from A$1.3 billion in 2019, an industry report showed of the Wine Australia body of February.
