High-level Australian officials have met with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing to discuss ongoing trade sanctions in the latest sign of a diplomatic thaw.
Beijing has imposed billions of dollars worth of unofficial sanctions on Australian products, including wine, barley and meat.
The trade officials’ meeting comes just days after Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres returned from China, where he met with his counterpart commerce vice-minister Wang Shouwen.
Senator Ayres advocated at the meeting for a “timely and full resumption of trade” to China which he said was in the interests of both countries.
Australian coal shipments to China have started to pick up in recent months after Beijing started allowing exports in.
Senator Ayres said Australia is on the path to a more stable relationship but wanted to see more progress.
“If you’re a wine grower, if you’re in seafood, barley, forest products, there’s a series of products there has not been much movement on,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Tuesday.
“I always count success in these things in terms of the number of container loads that are delivered into Chinese ports, not the actual outcomes of discussions.”
The talks also pave the way for Trade Minister Don Farrell to travel to Beijing in coming weeks as Australia awaits a major breakthrough in the trade dispute.
Senator Farrell accepted an invitation to travel to China from his Chinese counterpart when they met virtually last month but no date has been set.
– AAP
