China is world’s ‘most important trade partner’

CGTN Europe

David Olsson from the China Australia Business Council urged his government to use the two countries’ economic links to improve political relations. Olsson, who hosted a meeting between China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Australian business leaders said the economic relationship provides the ballast for broader bilateral relations.  #China #Business #Australia

Transcript

00:00 So the mere fact that we've had that level of engagement taking place in the context

00:05 of bilateral government relations is significant in itself.

00:09 So I think for me that the outcome of the meeting was first of all the fact that we

00:13 had it, the first in seven years.

00:16 There were affirmations by both sides that we need to continue this sort of dialogue.

00:21 It's very, very important.

00:22 David, as you said, it's very important to continue with the dialogues.

00:27 And from your perspective, your organisation represents over 500 Australian companies.

00:32 So what role do you see Australian businesses playing in shaping the future relations between

00:39 China and Australia?

00:41 We often lose sight of the fact that the economic relationship provides the ballast to that

00:47 broader bilateral relationship.

00:50 And in Australia's case, that is particularly the case.

00:53 We have an exceptionally strong economic relationship with China, a two-way relationship that benefits

00:58 both nations.

00:59 And so this opportunity for the business leaders of Australia to meet with a senior government

01:04 official from China is a very opportune time for us just to reassess and refresh that reaffirmation

01:13 of the importance of that economic relationship, which as I said, provides the ballast to the

01:17 broader bilateral relationship.

01:19 So do you mean that business ties can be affected by political relations between the two countries?

01:25 And we know that China and Australia had a period of strained relations.

01:28 How much did the business community suffer from that?

01:31 Well, we've had a period of about four or five years where the relations have been strained.

01:36 There have been a number of trade barriers implemented by China, particularly in relation

01:41 to new tariffs that have been implemented on a number of our goods, very exceptionally

01:46 high tariffs.

01:48 The voice of business has been very important in bringing the governments together.

01:53 We've provided the information that's necessary to enable governments to truly understand

01:57 the benefits that flow to each country from that mutual trade.

02:01 And together with our government, the Australian government, we've worked hard to lobby for

02:07 a reaffirmation of that economic relationship and the importance of it.

02:11 And now we see that the two parties are seeking to rebuild their ties.

02:16 And are Australian businesses confident in the Chinese market?

02:21 I think Australian businesses have traditionally been very confident in the Chinese market.

02:27 Clearly, in the last few years, and particularly the last few years during the pandemic, we've

02:34 all been concerned about what's happening within the Chinese domestic economy.

02:39 The pandemic has meant that many of the supply chains that we rely upon, that are so important

02:46 to our economic relationship, have been disrupted.

02:49 We continue to seek information, to try to assess that to the best of our knowledge,

02:56 and then put that into a whole global context, because we know that China is not only an

03:01 important trading partner to Australia, but one of the most important trading partners

03:05 to virtually every other country in the world.

03:07 As you said, we should put this in a global context.

03:10 And you went on record as saying, and quoting, that we are all awaiting the US election

03:15 outcomes, waiting to see how China responds to that.

03:18 So how much weight does China-US relations carry on China-Australia relations?

03:25 What happens between China and the United States has both direct and indirect effects

03:31 to countries, all countries, that are trading with the United States and with China.

03:37 In our case, we're particularly interested to know what's happening, because if there

03:42 is a further deterioration of the relationship between the United States and China, if there's

03:47 a further decoupling of the markets, then the impact for Australia is quite significant.

03:53 The potential for the disruption of supply chains, or the creation of different data

03:59 systems and means of communication with China, will create a number of very fundamental issues,

04:06 which will impact the way in which we engage with our trade globally, not just with China

04:11 and not just with America.

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