Australia given signal of services fight
The Standard | Hong Kong
Australia given signal of services fight
Beijing has told Canberra that opening access to China’s services industry will be the most difficult aspect in bilateral free-trade negotiations, according to an Australian official.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Beijing has told Canberra that opening access to China’s services industry will be the most difficult aspect in bilateral free-trade negotiations, according to an Australian official.
Officials concluded their fifth round of free-trade talks in Beijing over the weekend by agreeing on a general framework for negotiations to proceed. The talks began a year ago, with agriculture and manufacturing looming as the other most contentious areas. Ric Wells, who heads the China FTA task force for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told a Senate hearing Tuesday that China believed services negotiations will be the most sensitive part of any deal. The sector includes telecommunications, professional and financial services.
"The Chinese have made an effort to be frank about the difficulties for them of the whole services sector," Wells said. "The Chinese have, I think quite usefully, told us it will be difficult for them to give us improved access."
Some of the most sensitive areas for China are wool, wheat, sugar, rice and cotton, with Wells saying Beijing has "accepted that to negotiate a high-quality free trade agreement, concessions will be necessary from both sides."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
