Australia PM to visit China, reaches deal to resolve WTO wine dispute
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council during a Nato leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 12, 2023.
PHOTO: Reuters file
PUBLISHED ONOctober 22, 2023 2:21 AM
SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday (Oct 22) that he would travel to China from Nov 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, with the aim of ensuring a "stable and productive" relationship between the two countries.
Albanese, who took office in 2022 at the head of government intent on patching up relations with Australia's biggest trading partner, said he would visit Beijing and Shanghai on the visit, the first by an Australian leader since 2016, and confirmation of a significant step in stabilising ties.
On the visit, the leaders will discuss cooperation in areas such as economic links, climate change and "links between our people", Albanese said in a statmement.
"I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship," he said.
"I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australia's national interest."
Also on Sunday, Albanese said Australia had reached a deal with China to move forward to solve its World Trade Organisation dispute over wine, potentially clearing the way for the resumption of imports that were worth US$800 million (S$1.09 billion) a year before the duties were imposed in 2020.
"We welcome China's agreement to undertake an expedited review of its duties. This process is expected to take five months," Albanese said.
"Australia and China have agreed we will suspend the dispute on wine in the WTO pending the outcome of this review."
The move is part of a warming of relations between the two countries that has already seen China lift restrictions on imports of Australian commodities including coal, timber and barley worth billions of dollars.
China announced in November 2020 that it would impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties of up to 218 per cent on most Australian wine, causing trade to collapse. The measures were part of a barrage of trade restrictions that China imposed after Australia called for an enquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
Most of the trade restrictions have been lifted since a change of government in Canberra last year. Aside from wine, China maintains barriers on imports of lobsters and meat from some abattoirs.
Before China imposed the tariffs, it was the most valuable export market for Australian winemakers. In 2019, Australia shipped wine worth around US$800 million to China, its trade data show. Last year, exports were worth US$11 million.