BEIJING, May 30 -- After a year of skirmishing, the
Sino-Australian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions are finally taking shape,
with China agreeing in principle to include the sensitive areas of government
procurement and investment in any agreement.
; But progress on the most
contentious issue, opening up China's lucrative services sector to Australian
banks, insurers, telecommunications and transport companies, remained elusive.
The Chinese signaled they were interested in
resources investment and greater temporary labor access, and indicated they
would table draft text on these topics in the next round of talks, which are
scheduled for early September in Beijing.
At last week's fifth round of talks, held in Beijing,
the Australians tabled a draft template for an FTA comprising 15 chapters
covering both goods and services and including all agricultural products.
Officials close to the discussion described the engagement by the other side as
positive and substantial.
Canberra is committed to signing a single,
comprehensive free trade agreement, which would give Australian farmers, service
providers and investors greater access to the Chinese market.
The Chinese have been pushing for "sequential" deals
that would leave opening up the key services sector to a later date — which is
the template for its FTAs with Chile and the 10 members of the Association of
South — East Asian Nations. Australian businesses have potentially the most to
gain if access to the service sector is included under the FTA.
While China has traditionally welcomed investment in
manufacturing, there are elaborate restrictions on investment in services.
Agreement by China to include government procurement
is also important. After President Hu Jintao's recent U.S. visit, China agreed
to begin talks on joining the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). This
would allow foreign companies access to the lucrative area of government
contracts. Australia is not a signatory of the GPA so it must win access to
government tenders for Australian companies under the FTA.
(Source: Shenzhen Daily/ Agencies)
