PRIME MINISTER:
It is an honour to be standing beside President Xi here in the Main Committee Room of the Australian national Parliament.
I'm going to briefly run through some of the things that have been achieved today, but before I do that, I would like to congratulate President Xi on the speech that he has given to our Parliament. I think we have heard from the President of China a speech that will be studied and analysed for weeks and months and years to come. I think we've heard from the President a speech of historical significance.
So, this is not just a historical day for Australia with the signing of our Free Trade Agreement, it is a historical day for China with some of the statements that the President has chosen to make to the Australian Parliament about the democratisation of China and the fundamentally ethical approach that China intends to take with its partners, with its neighbours in its region and in the wider world. So, I do want to begin with those observations.
Now, the day began with some bilateral discussions between myself and the President. It continued with discussions between the President and his team and a number of my senior ministers led by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the Treasurer.
We then had a State Luncheon at Yarralumla with the Governor-General. We've had the historic address to the House of Representatives with Senators in attendance and some very important documents have been signed – principally, the document that concludes our free trade negotiations.
I want to say just a little bit about the free trade negotiations. First of all, I want to say that this is a very good day for both our countries. In particular, it's a very good day for Australia. This agreement is the first that China has concluded with a substantial economy – with a major economy – and it's the most comprehensive agreement that China has concluded with anyone.
It opens the doors to Australia and it opens the doors to China.
It's a reflection on both our countries' ability to be reliable partners and, obviously, what this agreement means is more jobs.
Already, two-way trade between Australia and China stands at $150 billion a year. China is our largest goods export destination at $95 billion in 2013. China is Australia's largest services market at $7 billion in 2013.
I’ll just run through some of the key points of the agreement that has been finalised. More than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports will be tariff-free upon entry into force, rising to 93 per cent in four years. Some of these goods are currently subject to tariffs of up to 40 per cent. On full implementation of the agreement, 95 per cent of our exports to China will be tariff-free.
Some of the practical changes – tariffs will be abolished for Australia's $13 billion-a-year dairy industry.
Beef and sheep farmers will gain from the abolition of tariffs ranging from between 12 and 25 per cent.
There will be the removal of tariffs on sheep meat ranging from 12 to 23 per cent.
The 8 per cent tariff on aluminium oxide will be gone on day one of the agreement.
The coking coal tariff will be gone on day one – and I want to repeat that because there has been some misinformation about coal – the coking coal tariff will be gone on day one.
Tariffs on Australian wine of between 14 and 30 per cent will be gone within four years.
Restrictive tariffs on sea foods will be gone within four years.
Tariffs on manufactured goods, pharmaceuticals and car engines will be eliminated as well.
But, it's also good news for services – financial services, education, mining, manufacturing, transport, health and aged care services will be facilitated as well as construction and engineering services and there's a built-in mechanism for further liberalisation and expansion of market access with the first review occurring within three years.
Now, in life, you don't have one-way relationships because one-way relationships are not sustainable and in trade, which is an expression of two countries working together, you always have two-way relationships.
I've said repeatedly that Australia is “open for business” and the Foreign Investment Review Board screening threshold for private businesses will increase from $248 million to over $1 billion in most areas.
We are honouring our election commitment on agricultural land with a $15 million threshold for it and a $53 million threshold for agribusinesses.
I should stress that negotiations are negotiations and you don't always get everything that you want in a negotiation but, as I said, there will be the chance to review the agreement and review it within three years.
Certainly, negotiations always result in a better outcome than no negotiations and that's why I'm so pleased with the negotiations that we have concluded.
Of course, negotiations are also tough. I pay tribute to Trade Minister Andrew Robb who's been a tough negotiator for Australia and I pay tribute to Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng who has been a tough negotiator for China.
This has been a ten year journey but we have finally made it and we will both see – both our countries will see – the benefits flow through in the years ahead.
It is, as I said at the beginning, a good day for Australia, a good day for China, a good day for consumers in both our countries and ultimately a good day for workers in both our countries.
Before I conclude, I should pay a tribute to the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who have worked tirelessly for years to make this a reality.
Yes, it needed some political acceleration that it was given by Premier Li and Minister Robb earlier this year, but the staff of the Department have been working on this for a decade. Jan Adams, who's led our negotiating team from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is now the official principally responsible for free trade agreements with Korea, with Japan and now the biggest of all, with China. So, congratulations to Jan and your team.
There's a lot more I could say. I've probably spoken for too long already, but there are other things that we're particularly delighted with. The establishment of an RMB Clearing Bank here in Australia is very, very good news indeed. The 14 business MoUs are also very, very good news. The New Colombo Plan is exciting people throughout our region – and thank you so much, Mr President, for specifically mentioning this in your speech to the Parliament today. Our defence cooperation, our people-to-people links – this has been an absolutely marvellous visit.
There's more to go, including your visit to Tasmania tomorrow which will complete your journey around the states and territories of Australia.
But, truly, no Chinese leader has ever been anything like such a good friend to Australia and we are so honoured to have you here in our country.
PRESIDENT XI:
Honourable Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, friends from the press. Good afternoon.
It gives me great pleasure to pay a State visit to Australia at the invitation of Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Let me begin by thanking the Australian Government and people for the warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements.
This morning, Prime Minister Abbott and I had fruitful talks. We had an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. We reached new consensus.
We also witnessed the signing of a host of bilateral cooperation agreements between our government agencies and businesses covering economy, trade, investment, financing, financial, education, research and other areas.
Since we established diplomatic relations in 1972, our bilateral relationship has made big strides, delivering great benefits to the people of our two countries and contributing significantly to the peace, development and stability of the region and beyond.
Both Prime Minister Abbott and I share the view that at this new starting point the two sides need to seize the opportunities and work together to bring our bilateral relationship to a new level. To underscore the high-level and strategic and comprehensive nature of the bilateral relationship, we have decided to upgrade our strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership, thus charting the course for the future growth of our relationship.
As the Chinese saying goes, it takes ten years to sharpen a sword, so we are so glad to see that after nearly ten years of negotiation our two sides have announced the substantive conclusion to the bilateral FTA negotiation. This will provide a bigger market, more favourable conditions and better institutional support for our cooperation.
Our two sides will further enhance cooperation and financial services. China has decided to set up an RMB Clearing Bank in Sydney and give Australian financial institutions RQFII quota.
Our two sides have also signed a framework agreement to enhance investment cooperation and a series of agreements including the acquisition of Aquila mine, the China mining joint venture extension, and the agriculture and food safety 100-year partnership between Chinese and Australian businesses.
We will expand cooperation in energy resources infrastructure, agriculture, animal husbandry, financial and other fields and nurture new growth areas for our result-oriented cooperation.
We will enhance exchanges in cooperation in education, culture and tourism – and at the local level with a view to cementing the social foundation for our relationship – China will open a consulate general in South Australia. This will be the fifth Chinese consulate general in Australia. Its purpose is to further enhance China's four dimensional links with South Australia.
The two countries have signed the agreement for the implementation of the New Colombo Plan in China.
We launched a mechanism for state provincial leaders exchanging cooperation. The Chinese Cultural Centre in Sydney has been officially opened and the China Library in the University of Technology Sydney and the Beijing Garden in Canberra have been inaugurated. These will provide new platforms for the people of our two countries to build understanding and deepen friendship.
Our two sides have agreed to reinforce our coordination and communication within multilateral mechanisms including the United Nations, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN regional forum and the Pacific Islands Forum in order to uphold and advance our shared interests and also provide public goods to the international community.
China welcomes an Australia which is actively integrated into Asia and we support Australia in playing the role as a bridge and bond connecting countries in north and south and cultures in east and west.
The extraordinary journey of our bilateral relationship over the past 42 years demonstrates that as long as our two sides treat each other with mutual respect, understanding and trust, accommodate each other’s core interests and properly handle our differences, we can ensure steady and great progress in our bilateral relationship.
Both the Chinese and Australian people are known for our down to earth approach and perseverance.
So, looking ahead, our two countries should make solid progress every step of our way and translate the major opportunities in our relationship into tangible results, thus bringing greater benefits to the people of our two countries.
Let us work together for a still brighter future of our bilateral relationship.
So, I want to take this opportunity to once again thank the Prime Minister Abbott, the Australian Government and Governor-General for the warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements. Thank you all.
[ends]