Australia and China are set to sign a free trade deal hailed by Canberra as a "game changer" that will open up billions of dollars in new export markets and counter a painful downturn in the mining sector.
China's President Xi Jinping (R) is welcomed by Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott as he arrives to take part in the G20 Summit in Brisbane on November 15, 2014.
The pact, to be signed during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, would be worth up to US$18 billion to the Australian economy over the next decade, senior government MP Josh Frydenberg said.
Details have yet to be confirmed, but reports suggest Prime Minister Tony Abbott won a dramatic increase in market access for Australian farmers, services and manufacturers with the deal.
"I think this is a game-changer," Frydenberg told ABC radio. "It will supercharge our trade with China. Up to 95 percent of our exports over time will enter the Chinese market tariff free."
China is Australia's biggest trading partner, with the two-way flow exceeding Aus$150 billion (US$131 billion).
The drawn-out talks began in 2005, but stalled last year over agriculture and China's insistence on removing investment limits for state-owned enterprises.
Abbott said Trade Minister Andrew Robb would sign a "declaration of intent" with Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng following completion of negotiations.
"I look forward to making further announcements on this landmark agreement later today," said Abbott, who has just hosted the world's most powerful leaders, including Xi, at the Group of 20 summit in Brisbane.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce would not go into details, but said he was confident it would be "extremely well received", with the FTA boosting agricultural exports and helping counter a downturn in mining and slumping commodity prices that are hurting the economy.
"If we can alleviate that in some way by exports in dairy and exports of beef and exports of wine, horticultural produce, fish, then that is a good outcome for us," Joyce said.
Under the deal, financial services providers would have access to China second only to that of providers in Hong Kong and Macau, both part of China, while dairy farmers would enjoy tariff-free access to China's lucrative infant formula markets without restrictive safeguard caps that apply to New Zealand, Fairfax Media reported.
- Devil in the detail -
One contentious outcome could the temporary employment of Chinese in Australia's high-pay workforce, a move condemned by unions.
"The last thing thing we need is for our government to trade away our jobs and our kids' future," said ACTU President Ged Kearney. "The benefits of free trade agreements are overblown and they never deliver."
CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said "the devil will be in the detail" as to which sections of the economy and which companies would benefit most.
"In most cases, a lot of work will be required to convert theoretical opportunity to bankable results," he said.
ANZ Research said in a note that the gains in services appeared particularly encouraging with the opening up of access to legal, financial, aged care, hospitality, engineering, education and other sectors.
It also pointed to expectations that private Chinese investors would have the foreign investment review threshold raised to Aus$1 billion.
The scheduled post-G20 summit visit by Xi, who was to address the Australian parliament later Monday in an honour bestowed only to his predecessor Hu Jintao in 2003, became a target to finalise the marathon negotiations.
Earlier this month, Canberra unveiled a deal to ship to China one million Australian cattle worth Aus$1 billion (US$860 million) in an agreement that will double the size of the live export industry.
Over the past year Australia has sealed free trade deals with Japan and South Korea.
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