On November 8th, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the fifth round of China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue with Australian Foreign Minister Payne in Beijing.
According to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, since 2015, China and Australia have carried out four tariff reductions, and imports of goods tariffs from Australia have begun to gradually reduce. A considerable number of commodities will achieve zero tariffs within five years. China and Australia will carry out the fifth round of tariff concessions on New Year's Day in 2019. By then, almost all goods in bilateral trade will enjoy zero tariffs.
At present, China is Australia's largest trading partner and the largest export destination country. Australia is China's sixth largest export destination. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume between China and Australia was US$136.26 billion, increased by 25.9% compared to the year-on-year data.
Australian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said: "From January 1th, 2019, after 8 weeks, all Chinese goods entering Australia will be exempt from customs duties. China will also cancel the import product customs tariffs on a range of Australian products, including wine, infant formula and hone that have been exhibited on the CIIE".
In addition, Chinese and Australian companies signed 11 agreements which will effect for 5 years with a total value of nearly 15 billion Australian dollars (about 75.8 billion yuan). Covers a range of industries including travel, resources, infrastructure, e-commerce, and logistics services.
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