Australia and China will push for progress in free-trade talks ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Sydney in September, Australia's trade minister said here on Friday. "Minister Bo and I reaffirmed our commitment to achieving progress in the negotiations, including in advance of the visit to Australia by President Hu Jintao in September," Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss told reporters.
Truss met with Bo Xilai, the Chinese Minister of Commerce, on Thursday night shortly after arriving for a three-day visit. Truss said a "wide range" of Australian service businesses are interested in the liberalisation of the service industry in China.
China's state media last month reported the country's Cabinet would take steps to further open its long-restricted services sector to bring it more in line with World Trade Organisation expectations. He also addressed Chinese concerns about opening its agricultural industry. "Our overall agricultural production is very much smaller than is achieved in China," he said. "So Australia's 140,000 farmers are no threat to the 800 million farmers of China."