Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

This morning the Prime Minister and President Xi announced the conclusion of negotiations for a tree trade agreement after more than 10 years. The signing of the landmark China-Australia free trade agreement today reflects a new high in the Australian-China relationship. Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, and his Chinese counterpart will later today sign a declaration of intent. This is an undertaking to prepare the text of the agreement for signature.

This high-quality FTA will open significant opportunities for Australia in the world's second largest economy and our largest trading partner. It advances and protects access for our service providers and will attract greater investment into Australia, driving growth and creating jobs.

Senator Wong interjecting—

For Senator Wong's continual interjections, I am only making overarching comment, not talking about specific elements. Importantly, it positions Australia to benefit from China's growth and economic transformation over the coming decades. The China free trade agreement complements those that have already been entered into with South Korea and Japan. This trading bloc represents about 50 per cent of our export markets. That these three free trade agreements have been signed up within the first 12 months of the coalition government just goes to show what you can do when you put your mind to something.