Chinese trade will weather Tibet disagreements: Govt
ABC Online, Australia
Chinese trade will weather Tibet disagreements: Govt
11 April 2008
Federal Trade Minister Simon Crean says the Prime Minister has shown the Australian Government can express concerns about Tibet, without affecting the trade relationship with China.
During a meeting yesterday Kevin Rudd and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to restart negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, and Mr Crean will discuss the talks in Beijing next week.
The decision was made at the same meeting where Mr Rudd raised the issue of human rights abuses in Tibet.
Mr Crean says that was the appropriate place for those concerns to be raised.
"At the same we can proceed down the path of unfreezing what was stalled negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement," he said.
"I’m looking forward to going up to Beijing next week, to take up that opportunity, to pursue the agenda and to hopefully advance it even further."
Mr Crean says negotiations on the FTA will focus on winning an deal that covers all sectors.
He says New Zealand’s recently completed agreement with China is an important breakthrough, but he will be pushing for a broader agreement.
"The New Zealand free trade agreement showed that we could get openings in agriculture, but for Australia’s Free Trade Agreement with China we’ve got to build on those opportunities but to also extend them into services," he said.
