PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, I';ve just completed a lengthy meeting with Premier Wen and also we continued our discussions over lunch and I';d like to report on the substance of those discussions. I';m very well pleased with the discussions that we';ve had. This visit has given me the opportunity of meeting very early in the piece the new Chinese leadership and to have the opportunity in the space of a day of meeting the new Premier, the new President, and the new Chairman of the People';s Congress means that the momentum of the relationship between our two countries can be maintained to the full.
The economic and trade relationship between Australia and China is already very strong. China is Australia';s third largest trading partner and over the past six or seven years our exports to China have trebled. It is against that background that we have agreed to continue discussions about an economic and trade framework agreement and as part of that there will be discussion between officials in Canberra in September, and in Beijing in October. It';s a very complimentary trade relationship. Amongst other commodoties Australia exports iron ore, wool and alumina to China, and in return we import clothing, toys and computers.
We also spent quite a bit of time discussing North Korea. I congratulated the Premier on the very constructive role that his country has played in relation to North Korea which remains far and away the most likely to take notice….more likely to take notice of China than indeed of any other country. Australia';s goal and China';s goal in relation to North Korea are virtually identical. We are both opposed to North Korea having a nuclear capacity, we both want the issue resolved in a peaceful fashion, we both support very strongly the six-party talks that are to take place here in Beijing, and we both recognise that that will afford an opportunity for the Americans and the North Koreans within the embrace of that meeting to have discussions.
Finally, in relation to North Korea I emphasised the view of the Australian Government that the free and direct exchanges which have occurred between the Chinese Government and the United States Administration was a very positive thing and has played a very major role in the management of what is a very difficult issue.
And finally can I say that I did take the opportunity early in my discussion with the Premier to indicate to him how much Australia admired the manner in which the SARS outbreak had been handled by the Chinese authorities and the firm decisive leadership displayed by the Premier and President Hu Jintao and other members of the Administration deeply impressed China';s friends not only in the region but around the world.
As you know as a footnote after this press conference I';ll be meeting President Hu Jintao and during that meeting I';ll renew the invitation already issued for him to visit Australia.
Any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Did you raise the idea of a feasibility study into a free trade agreement and what was the Chinese response if you did?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes. That was discussed as part of the overall discussion about the framework agreement and it';s been agreed that that and all other relevant matters will be the subject of further detailed discussion at the two meetings that are going to occur quite quickly and I';m encouraged that we were able to arrange immediately for these two officials levels discussion. That';s normally a sign that both sides are quite serious. But we still have a distance to go on all of these things and you need to take them a step at a time, recognising of course that the launching pad is a very solid one because our economic and trade relationship is very deep.
JOURNALIST:
Could I ask you back on North Korea, how significant a threat is the North Korean situation and how important is China';s leverage to averting a crisis?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the North Korean nuclear threat is about as real and serious a threat as we could have anywhere in either the region or the world. That';s the sobering message. The hopeful message is that all of the relevant countries are working very hard to achieve a stable guaranteed peaceful outcome but one that also guarantees that North Korea doesn';t have a nuclear capacity. And no country is more important than China. China has more influence on North Korea than any other country in the world and China has played a wholly constructive positive role and I took the opportunity of congratulating the Premier for that during our discussion.
JOURNALIST:
North Korea is still insisting on a non-aggression pact with the United States. Does this not make the six-nation talks null and void in some way?
PRIME MINISTER:
Take what, make what talks….?
JOURNALIST:
The six-nation talks on the 27th….
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh no no no, it doesn';t. All of the countries that will be attending those talks are important. They all individually have interests and pressures to bear and collectively they communicate a united view and that is quite important in persuading the North Koreans of what the world wants. I think we have a situation now where the immediately relevant countries are going to meet here in Beijing. That';s the ideal location. China has played a constructive, important role in bringing about the talks and those talks provide the venue, the opportunity, the embrace, however you want to describe it, for interaction between the Americans and the North Koreans.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, there';s reports that there will be manoeuvres in the Coral sea with the Americans. Are we involved in that and if so what is the message that sends to the North Koreans?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I';ve already indicated that and so has Mr Downer that there will be in the normal course some Coral Sea, I think they';re called Coral Exercises, between the Australians and the Americans and I think I said that part of that on this occasion could well be matters relating to the capacity for interdiction. But what message does it send, I think the message being sent on that issue now is that it is rather in the background and on the backburner because of the very hopeful trends that have emerged and I think we all hope it remains on the backburner as a consequence.
JOURNALIST:
I have two questions. First is now you just said China becomes the third [inaudible] Australia, so could you please give more in relation about [inaudible] relationship between China and Australia? The second is will you sign any economic documents with China Government?
PRIME MINISTER:
Will we what I';m sorry? What was the last bit you asked me I';m sorry?
JOURNALIST:
Will you sign any economic documents?
PRIME MINISTER:
Will we sign any economic documents?
JOURNALIST:
Agreements with China Government?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are anxious to conclude a framework trade and economic agreement and we are discussing what the contents of that might be and in the course of those discussions issues relating to a joint scoping study on a free trade agreement and China';s market or putative market status will be also discussed. You only ever sign a document with another country if you both agree on it and I hope we can, but we need to move in a measured sensible way recognising that we already have a very close relationship.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, did the Chinese Premier raise with you the anti-dumping legislation bill that Australia is looking at at the moment and are you intending to push forward with it?
PRIME MINISTER:
No he did not raise that specific issue, no. I don';t think from recollection the issue of anti-dumping was specifically raised at all.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, how would you comment on the pros and cons of a free trade pact with China?
PRIME MINISTER:
The pros and cons? Well the reality is that I can';t go into the detail of that at a news conference such as this. Apart from anything else they';re the sorts of things that should be discussed between our two governments and our negotiators if we ever got in that direction. But clearly any kind of free trade understanding is only concluded if there are benefits for both sides and the Chinese economy and the Australian economy are in many ways already complimentary but they';re at different stages of development and the countries are different in size and scope. But we';re obviously interested in finding new ways providing there';s something in it for both of us of deepening the economic relationship.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, I';m just wondering did any of the Chinese leaders raise the issue of Australia';s close military ties with the United States, and I';m just wondering were any…did the discussions touch upon the topic of the ongoing efforts to forge a free trade pact between the United States and Australia considering that there were talks….?
PRIME MINISTER:
No to both questions. Sorry, no.
JOURNALIST:
On the anti-dumping question there have been a lot of fears expressed here that the definition of anti-dumping in this new legislation is rather looser than the old legislation and could lead to a spate of anti-dumping cases in Australia as has already hit China and Europe and North America. Is it something you';d be prepared to look at again in the light of these Chinese concerns and concerns by the Australian business community here in China?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well can I remind you that the issue was not raised in the discussions I';ve had. It may be raised in future discussions but it wasn';t raised. We have already on my advice made some adjustments to our anti-dumping legislation to accommodate some of the concerns of the Chinese. I don';t have all of the detail of that in mind. It clearly is part of the good faith character of the relationship. Anything that is put to us we consider seriously and fairly against a criteria of being fair to our friends and partners but also looking to Australia';s interests. That';s all I can say but it';s not an issue that was discussed this morning.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the Australians have been somewhat critical of China';s human rights record and we know that some Australian officials visited China about three weeks ago and talked with Chinese officials about China';s human rights record. And have you touched upon this issue with Chinese officials and have you….?
PRIME MINISTER:
It was discussed. Both of us expressed satisfaction with the human rights dialogue. We both thought it';s superior to what used to happen before when Australia joined generic statements about human rights that didn';t appear to have any impact. We think we';ve made more headway on this issue. And the Premier indicated to me towards the end of the discussion that he would like to keep the momentum of that human rights dialogue going.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask you a domestic political question?
PRIME MINISTER:
A domestic political question?
JOURNALIST:
In your absence the Labor premiers have been quite critical of your stance over health. Peter Beattie has even made a comment comparing the money being spent on the Solomons versus the health system. Do you have any comment to make?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think that particular comment is both outrageous and opportunistic. The money we are spending on the Solomons operation has in no way been taken away from health spending. The Queensland Premier is utterly wrong. Our offer on health has in no way been diminished by what we';ve had to spend on the Solomons and it';s quite wrong and opportunistic of Mr Beattie to suggest otherwise. Let me just repeat our offer is 17% more in real terms over the next five years and I continue to regard it as a bit rich that the response of the state premiers when we ask them to match our increase their hospitals the response of the state premiers is to say well you put even more money on the table before we give you our response. I thought that remark of Peter Beattie';s was irresponsible and opportunistic, and more importantly just plain wrong.
[Ends]