Australia’s deputy prime minister said Tuesday (12/12) that his government was seeking to “stabilize” its relationship with China as it sought to balance trade and security issues.
“The relationship with China is a complex relationship,” said Richard Marles, speaking in Adelaide. “On the one hand, we have the largest trading partners, on the other hand, we have the most significant security concerns,” he added.
His comments came after China lifted an import ban on three Australian meat suppliers in a sign of improving trade relations between the two countries.
China’s customs agency announced overnight that it was removing a ban on imports of beef and mutton from JBS and the Australian Lamb Company, both in the state of Victoria as well as Teys Australia in the state of South Australia.
FILE – Packages of beef imported from Australia are sold at a supermarket in Beijing, Friday, May 15, 2020. China has lifted an import ban on three Australian meat suppliers, December 12, 2023. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
China has banned imports of red meat from 11 abattoirs in Australia since 2020, citing COVID-19 cases among staff and mislabeling of products.
The ban is seen as part of a range of official and unofficial trade barriers that China has imposed to punish Australia for policies that include calls for an independent investigation into the origins and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China still bans meat imports from eight other slaughterhouses in Australia. Australian officials were working to resolve “technical barriers to the trade,” a government statement said.
Marles said that resuming meat exports to China was a step towards stabilizing bilateral relations since the government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was elected last year.
“I want to say that we value the most productive relationship we can have with China,” Marles, who replaced Albanese while he was on holiday, told reporters.
China has lifted most of its trade barriers that cost Australian exporters 20 billion Australian dollars ($14 billion) a year at its peak, since the change of Australian government. (ab/uh)