The 10th anniversary of the implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement has promoted the steady development of bilateral trade.

In 2025, it will mark the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. According to Chinese data, in 2024, the bilateral goods import and export volume between China and Australia reached US$211.27 billion, an increase of 85.6% compared with 2015.

Reporters learned this recently from the sub-forum "10th Anniversary of the Implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement" at the Hongqiao International Economic Forum. This forum is an important part of the 8th China International Import Expo.

Han Yong, Director of the Department of WTO Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2015 and is an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations. Over the past 10 years, the agreement has promoted fruitful results in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

"After the agreement came into effect, the continuous reduction of tariffs has injected strong impetus into bilateral economic and trade cooperation. At present, the annual bilateral trade volume between China and Australia has exceeded A$300 billion. China is Australia's largest trading partner, and Australia has also become one of China's top ten trading partners." Paul Grimes, CEO of Austrade, said at the forum.

"The Chinese market accounts for about one-third of Australia's exports. China has also become Australia's largest export market for services such as tourism and education." Yi Xiaozhun, former vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement has played an important driving role in the development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

"What's more important than the figures is the meaning behind them." Vincent Feng, President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in China, said that the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement represents the trust and perseverance of enterprises from both countries, continuously providing certainty and framework support for enterprises and helping them grow, adapt and innovate. Vincent Feng believes that the current agreement has become a platform for new types of cooperation, covering fields such as clean energy and decarbonization, healthcare and medical technology, and digital trade.

Han Yong said that in the next step, China will work with Australia to tap the potential of the agreement, further improve the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and provide higher-level institutional guarantees for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations.