China’s international trade negotiator has expressed concern over Australia’s scrutiny of the operations of Chinese firms there, the commerce ministry said, while flagging the potential for economic and trade co-operation. The comments by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen came during a meeting on Monday with Australia’s deputy secretary general for foreign affairs and trade in the Chinese capital, the ministry said in a statement.
The meeting continues an apparent thaw in trade ties that saw China lift curbs on Australian coal exports in early January, although the trade partners continue to feud over Australian exports of wine, beef, barley, seafood, and timber. It also came a day before Canberra, citing security concerns, vowed to remove TikTok, a social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, from all devices owned by the federal government, citing security concerns.
Australian and Chinese officials are set to meet this week at the World Trade Organization to discuss how to normalise trade.