Australia wants to diversify its trading relationship with China, but that doesn’t mean trade flows will slow down, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell told CNBC.
“We want to stabilize our relationship with China… we also want to diversify our relationship,” Farrell told CNBC’s Martin Soong on the weekend in Osaka, Japan where G7 trade ministers met.
“That doesn’t mean trading any less with China. But it does mean trading more with the countries with whom we have free trade agreements,” he added, citing those in the European Union bloc.
Currently, Australia has agreements with more than 20 countries, and is hoping to negotiate for more.
Canberra is also in dialogue with its largest trading partner China to drop tariffs on Australian wine imports that were introduced in March 2021. At the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020 and 2021, China slapped import tariffs on several Australian exports — ranging from wine and red meat to lobsters and timber.
In August, Beijing finally lifted tariffs on Australian barley imports, which previously totaled about 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($988.1 million).
