As noted in yesterday’s report on the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the deal on paper makes a lot of sense.
Bilateral FTAs generally work best when there is a high degree of complementarity between the two partner nations. That is, when the exports of one country coincides with the imports of another, and both nations are ‘world’s best practice’ in their particular areas of specialty. Australia and China broadly fit this mold, with Australia a leader in minerals/agriculture, and China a leader in manufactures.
