‘Lot at stake’: Jim’s mission to China

Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be in Beijing for high levels talks in the first such visit in seven years, with fears declines in China’s economy could have domestic repercussions.

A struggling construction and real estate sector in China, which takes 85 per cent of Australia’s iron ore exports, has led to weakened steel production there.

Mr Chalmers told reporters on Wednesday the two-day talks would focus on “stabilising our economic relationship with China”.

It’s the first post-Covid meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which was last attended by then-treasurer Scott Morrison in 2017.

The former prime minister was also the last Australian treasurer to visit China when he attended the talks seven years ago with then trade minister Steven Ciobo.

“We’re not immune from weakness in the Chinese economy and that’s why it’s so important that over the next two days,” Mr Chalmers said.

“I’ll be meeting with key Chinese counterparts in Beijing.”

Describing the dynamic between China and Australia as complex “but full of opportunity”, he said a “stable economic relationship” was to the benefit of “Australian workers and businesses investors and our country more broadly”.

“Our approach to China has been to co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, but also always engage in Australia’s national interest,” he said.

“We recognise that there’s a lot at stake and a lot to gain from a more stable economic relationship with China.

“We’ve got a big opportunity to make sure that both countries benefit from the complementarity of our economies while always advancing and protecting Australia’s national interests.”

Mr Chalmers added that ahead of the meeting, he had spoken to mining giants BHP, Fortescue and Woodside, plus banking executives at Macquarie and HSBC, and business peak body group the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

With iron ore prices falling to their lowest since 2022, the forecast has improved after the China central bank made unprecedented moves to ease borrowing measuring to boost its economy on Tuesday.

In response, Australia mining giants BHP surged 3.29 per cent to $41.12, Rio Tinto rallied 3.66 per cent to $116.45 and Fortescue climbed 1.75 per cent to $18.

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