中国投资者放眼中澳自贸区

According to the Free Trade Agreement signed between China and Australia, prices for agricultural products like Australian mutton, beef, and red wine will see a considerable drop in the coming years.

Even before the FTA was signed, the market for Australian goods in the Chinese market has grown considerably in recent years, and investing in Australian agriculture is already seen as lucrative by many Chinese business people.

Wang Weiguo, who runs a vineyard in Australia, is one of them.

"Before I came here, the red wine market in Australia was saturated. The farm that I run provides around 10 thousand bottles to the local market. Since then, I have doubled the production by exporting red wine to China. I have applied to increase production and will be targeting around 50 thousand bottles next year. I have great expectations for the Chinese market."

Wang took over the running of a local wine producer in 2014 after the negotiations of the FTA had finished.

He said the FTA has brought great opportunities for his business. With the Chinese market taken into account, his wine sales doubled in only one year and the vineyard has been receiving visits from many more Chinese tourists.

"The signing of the Sino-Australian FTA is great news to us. The red wine we exported to China will enjoy a zero tariffs policy within four years. This gives the business lots of room to increase."

Bob Carr, head of Australia-China Relations Institute, also hails the FTA, as it gives Australians easier access to the ever increasing Chinese market.

"So it gives Australia a very good stake in the new normal. A Chinese economy that's providing services and is based on consumption rather than the old-fashioned manufacturing for export model, which China is moving beyond. And for Australia, it means market access as China becomes a middle-class society. As China moves over the next 15 years to the 2030 goal of being a moderately prosperous society, it gives Australia a chance of selling its produce to that bigger and bigger Chinese middle class."

Agriculture investment in Australia is just one example of the opportunities being pursued in that country by Chinese business people.

With tariffs being cut in most sectors over a period of several years, it's expected that more Chinese investors will look for opportunities in Australia.

For CRI, this is Ryan Price.