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Written by Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian business leaders are set to meet China’s foreign minister in Canberra, saying their country lacks knowledge about its biggest trading partner and is “critical” to trade flows. He said he would seek insight into how Beijing views Washington.
Australia-China Business Council (ACBC) national president David Olson will host a closed-door meeting with Wang Yi and 11 representatives from businesses, universities and think tanks on Wednesday during the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister in seven years. Announced.
The meeting follows an annual meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday.
“I look forward to a frank exchange of views on our two countries’ common interests, differences and our respective roles in safeguarding a peaceful, stable and secure region,” Wong said in a statement on Tuesday.
Olson said businesses have been “left on the sidelines” in government conversations dominated by national security concerns, and are seeking a better understanding of how China views its place in the world. ACBC said it would meet with Mr. Wang because of the need to do so.
“We want to hear how Wang Yi and China are approaching the U.S. relationship, because that’s an important element in understanding our trade flows,” Olson said.
The US anti-inflation law, aimed at reducing dependence on China, has far-reaching implications for global supply chains for clean energy and critical minerals, including Australia.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with Australia’s resource and energy exports dominating trade flows. The company has invested in mining projects in Australia, but some Chinese investments in critical minerals have been blocked by the Foreign Investment Review Board on national security grounds.
“We are trying to find as much information as possible to form our own assessments of how we move forward in a very complex and uncertain world. We’re waiting for the election results, and we’re waiting to see how China responds to that,” Olson said. .
The head of iron ore from mining giant Rio Tinto and the chief executives of bodies representing eight research universities will attend, along with representatives from the health, legal and financial sectors.
“In recent years, China has emerged as a far more powerful and far more influential country in the world. For a variety of reasons, whether it’s the pandemic or the way they’ve approached China domestically, the fact is that Our understanding of China’ and its role in the region and the world is not as strong as it used to be,” Olson said in an interview.
China imposed trade restrictions on a number of Australian agricultural and mineral products during the 2020 diplomatic dispute, but these have now been significantly eased.
The Australian Government continues to urge exporters to diversify beyond China to reduce risk.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Melanie Burton; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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