Australian minister to press China on trade barriers, Yang Hengjun sentence

Name: Beijing court hands down suspended death sentence to Australian writer Yang Jun for spying
Uploaded: 2024-02-13T06:59:31.000Z
Duration: 3 min 6 s
Description: Beijing court hands down suspended death sentence to Australian writer Yang Jun for spying

Trade chief Don Farrell will push for removal of restrictions on wine, lobsters and meat in talks with Chinese counterpart at WTO summit

He also told the ABC he will raise the case of Australian writer Yang, who was handed a suspended death sentence on espionage charges

1-MIN READ1-MIN

Reuters

Published: 2:59pm, 13 Feb 2024

Australia’s trade minister on Tuesday said he would meet his Chinese counterpart at a World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi later this month and push for the removal of restrictions on imported Australian wine, lobsters and meat.

Don Farrell also told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) he would talk to Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao about the suspended death sentence given to Australian writer Yang Hengjun earlier this month.

Farrell said the Australian government was “appalled” by the conviction and sentence over espionage charges but that it should not derail relations between the two countries.

03:06

Beijing court hands down suspended death sentence to Australian writer Yang Jun for spying

Beijing has removed most of the trade barriers it imposed on Australian goods after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19. Restrictions remain only on wine, lobsters and meat from a small group of abattoirs.

“The Australian government continues to press for the removal of all remaining trade impediments affecting Australian exports to China,” Farrell said in a statement.

“I look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with my Chinese counterpart, Minister Wang Wentao, at the World Trade Organization conference this month.”

The WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates will take place from February 26 to February 29.