Australian business group leader eyes deeper ties with China

SYDNEY, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia and China, which have enjoyed a longstanding business relationship, have the potential to expand areas of cooperation, David Olsson, national president of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC), has said.

"Working together to address the climate challenge offers the potential to further expand trade between the two countries and is essential to making climate action more effective and cost-efficient," Olsson told Xinhua in a recent written interview as this year marks 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Australia diplomatic relations.

Olsson, who has been working in and with China for nearly three decades, said the Australia-China relationship is based on strong economic and trade complementarities and longstanding personal, business and cultural links.

"China is Australia's largest trading partner, and Australia is an important and reliable supplier of mining and mineral resources, high-quality agricultural and food products and a wide range of services that can help China sustain its economic growth," he added.

As for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states and their five trading partners - China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, he said the agreement, along with shared net-zero climate ambitions of the two countries, can provide a solid basis to take forward discussions with China.

"China's economic development has been extraordinary, and there can be no doubt that China's rise over those decades has reshaped the global economy and world politics," he said.

"The years ahead are of great consequence for the people of China and the world," he added.