ANZ hails success in China-Australia free trade

The free-trade agreement China and Australia signed two years ago has produced tangible results and will bring further economic benefits for both countries, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said on Friday.
A report titled “Now for Investment: Looking beyond free trade in the China-Australia Free-Trade Agreement”, prepared for ANZ by ITS Global to mark the pact’s second anniversary, predicts increased demand for Australian goods in China and a lower cost of investment in Australia that will generate stronger returns for Chinese investors.
The report was unveiled in Shanghai by ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott during a week-long visit to China by the bank’s board.
“Although ChAFTA is still in its infancy, we can see its impact already,” Elliott said. “This report paints a clear picture of where ChAFTA is taking the China-Australia relationship – to a deeper and more diversified economic engagement in which trade and investment will be increasingly intertwined.
“The result is there are significant opportunities for businesses seeking to capitalise on the large and growing trade and investment flows between the two countries. In particular we are now seeing more diversification in the trade and investment relationship beyond resources and to agriculture and services.”
Elliott called the deal “a pioneering framework to guide China’s economic engagement with a developed world economy”.