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文章撰写：《中国经贸聚焦》杂志

中国国家主席习近平与澳大利亚总理阿博特（Tony Abbott）11月17日在堪培拉举行会谈，双方共同宣布实质性结束中澳自由贸易协定谈判。这意味着历经近10年努力，中澳自贸谈判终成正果。

全球第二大经济体中国将向澳大利亚的农产品和服务业敞开市场，澳大利亚也将放宽中国对澳丰富资源的投资限制。这一具有里程碑意义的协议，将在未来数年给两国民众和经济发展带来诸多利好。

澳农产品成最大受益者

根据协定，澳大利亚对中国所有产品关税最终将全部降为零，中国对澳大利亚绝大多数产品关税最终将降为零。其中，超过85％的澳大利亚出口产品在协议生效后就将立刻实现零关税，4年内该比例将提高至93％，到协定全面实施时95％的澳产品将实现零关税。

澳大利亚农产品显然是最大受益者。中澳两国农业的发展水平差异较大，特别在中国食品安全问题日益突出的背景下，借助于关税的逐步取消，将有更多澳大利亚优势农产品进入中国。

比如，澳大利亚乳制品在4-11年内出口中国的关税将降为零。据澳大利亚驻华大使馆商务参赞、澳贸委商务专员杜大维（David Dukes）对《中国经贸聚焦》记者介绍，2008-2013年澳洲对中国乳制品出口已经翻了一番，去年出口额达3.51亿澳元，而中国目前对澳乳制品实施约10％-15％的关税。“自贸协定势必将增加澳大利亚乳制品的竞争优势，缩小同已与中国签署自贸协定的新西兰的差距。婴幼儿配方奶粉等主要出口乳制品的份额将有望加大。”

对于其他重要出口农产品包括牛羊肉、羊毛、葡萄酒等同样如此。杜大维告诉记者，过去一年澳大利亚对中国的牛肉出口量就增加了3-4倍，2013年达15.3万吨，价值7亿多澳元。在9年内中国将免去对澳进口牛肉的关税，目前其税率为12％-25％。有业内人士另外表示，随着4年内将免除14％-30％的关税，澳大利亚葡萄酒在华进口量也有望爆发，甚至可能超越法国位居第一。据悉，目前法国葡萄酒在中国的市场占有率约40％，澳大利亚在17％左右，今年1-9月，澳大利亚萄萄酒进口额为1.82亿美元。
杜大维还认为，近年已在逐步开拓中国市场的澳洲水果蔬菜的出口会有很大发展余地，此外，海鲜也将是重要增长点，“比如龙虾目前是15％关税，4年内将停止征收。过往那些在人们看来有些奢侈的产品，在零关税后价格可能变得平易近人。”

不过，农业在澳大利亚出口贸易中所占体量很小，关税问题的解决对促进澳经济的作用或仍有限。澳大利亚外事与贸易部数据显示，去年澳大利亚农业对华出口额仅有36.8亿澳元，仅占商品出口总额的3.89％。去年第一大出口农产品羊毛的出口额为19亿澳元，而矿产品中仅铁矿石的出口额就高达526.5亿澳元。

中澳自贸协定明确，澳大利亚各种资源和能源产品也会实现零关税，包括在协议生效后立即取消氧化铝8％的关税，取消中国对澳出口焦煤3％的关税，热能煤6％关税则将在两年内取消等。据悉，澳大利亚是中国最大的煤炭进口国，2013年进口8800万吨，占全部煤炭进口的30％。中国的焦煤进口更是一半来自于澳洲。

但业内人士分析表示，这对已经实行零关税的铁矿石行业影响不大，随着今年中国经济增长明显放缓，国内港口的铁矿石、煤炭和棉花库存极大，对澳大利亚矿产品的需求也相应减少。

杜大维则认为，自贸协定对部分资源品“锁定零关税”非常重要，“因为之前零关税并不代表将来就能零关税”，“虽然目前中国对各类资源需求不是太旺盛，但应该将眼光放得更长远些，未来包括中国在内的东北亚国家仍将是澳大利亚矿产出口的重要市场，澳矿业公司对中国市场依然有充足信心。”

服务业准入是突破

除商品贸易外，在杜大维看来，中澳自贸协定的最大突破在于服务行业的市场介入条款，这是中国第一次将服务业开放比较充分和具体地写入自贸协定中。

“服务业是澳洲经济占比最大的领域，在中国经济中也占据越来越重的份量，两国在该领域打开大门，对各自经济发展都将起到积极作用。”

这些服务业方面的条款包括：在华允许澳方成立100％外资的旅行社、酒店、餐厅、房地产公司、环境治理公司、研发公司等；扩大中国学生留学澳大利亚的学校选择；澳大利亚的建筑公司和设计公司可以在华承包更多更大的工程项目；扩大律师事务所合作；允许澳大利亚矿业公司在中国中西部提供更广泛的采矿服务；中国的服务供应公司到澳，可以享受与澳大利亚和韩国、日本自贸协定里类似的待遇。

特别是金融领域，中国就透明度、官方决策程序、许可审批速度等作出了承诺。允许澳大利亚保险公司参与中国汽车第三方保险等。此外，11月17日，中国人民银行还与澳大利亚储备银行签署了在澳建立人民币清算安排的合作备忘录，同时两国央行同意将人民币合格境外投资者（RQFII）试点地区扩大到澳大利亚、扩大澳洲央行在中国银行间债券市场投资额度等。

杜大维称，“澳大利亚非常欢迎人民币国际化举动，去年中澳双边贸易额达1500亿澳元，如果相当部分贸易活动能够以人民币直接结算，将为两国企业提供很大便利，并避免多次汇兑带来的损失。”而事实上，澳大利亚建立人民币清算系统的野心不仅限于贸易结算，随着双边投资的增加，人民币也被认为将会在其中发挥重要作用。

有分析认为，相比澳大利亚在自贸协定中获得的农产品、矿产资源输出的关税优惠和服务业开放准入，中国从协定中获利较多的是制造业，包括澳大利亚将免除澳消费者为中国服装、鞋类、汽车部件、汽车和电子产品支付的10亿元关税。数据显示，2014年1-9月，澳大利亚从中国进口总额为207.6亿美元，其中61.8％是机电产品、纺织品和家具玩具制品。

总体而言，自贸协定对中国经济是利好，不会对国内产业造成太大冲击。中国驻澳大利亚大使马朝旭也指出，中澳经济在结构上存在很强的互补性，给双方经贸合作提供了巨大空间，自贸协定有利于进一步深化双边经贸关系，实现互利共赢。

放宽投资门槛

而在中国诉求的关键领域投资领域，根据协定，澳大利亚对于来自中国的私营企业投资的外资审查门槛，将大幅从2.48亿澳元放宽到与澳洲其他自贸协定等同的10.78亿澳元（约合57.02亿元人民币），这意味着投资额在此之内的项目将不必接受审核。澳政府对中国私人投资者对农业土地的投资免审上限仍为1500万澳元，对农业企业投资免审上限为5300万澳元。

此外，对于来自中国国有企业的投资项目，不论投资规模大小都需要经过澳大利亚外国投资审查委员会（FIRB）的审查。

杜大维强调，“大部分投资项目都不会超过10亿多澳元的上限，因此它们都将不需要再经过审查。在过去几年里，绝大多数对澳投资项目也都获FIRB审查通过，只有极少数才被要求有附加条件。而澳洲对所有国家国企对澳投资项目都要求进行审查，此项规定并非专门针对中国。”他并表示，相比其他国家，目前中国在澳投资额还不大，希望中国能继续提高对澳投资额，使澳洲成为中国对外投资的主要目的国。

杜大维还对《中国经贸聚焦》记者指出，从贸易到投资，中澳自贸协定其实不单单是一个国际协议，也是一个平台，它指定了一种内置机制，包括三年进行首次复议，这将在今后允许双方在对等和互利双赢基础上，推动更进一步的开放和市场准入的扩大。

During the APEC meeting in Beijing, President Xi Jinping announced China will spend US$10 trillion on imports over the next five years and US$1.25 trillion in foreign investment over the next ten years. While these are very large figures, they do not amount to much of an annual increase over current volumes. Instead, they signal China’s long-term commitment to further globalisation.

The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is a game changer in more ways than one. It improves the business outlook for Australian exporters. It also dismisses concerns that Australia’s relations with its traditional allies have alienated China and harmed economic relations.

Australian goods and services are now supported by invigorated business links to China and better access to global markets. If Australia maintains its share of Chinese total imports and outbound direct investment, China will be Australia’s major trade and investment partner for the next decade at least. Expectations are that mutual self-interest will continue to pull Australia closer to China.

From a business perspective, the pull effect has been operational during most of the mining boom. This really was a China boom, driven by the large demand from China for Australian resources.

The agreement ensures trade will increase by billions of dollars. China has been Australia’s biggest trading partner since 2009. In 2013, Australia’s two-way trade with China surpassed $150 billion.

The main winners will be Australian agriculture, service industries, resources and certain manufacturing industries. Tariff reductions across the board will create new opportunities for Australian businesses and increase their competitive advantages in the Chinese market. Chinese consumers and producers will also get better access to Australian agribusiness products, new financial services and manufacturing products.

Beyond the FTA

This new China boom will pull Australia into the Chinese business orbit, but it will take significant effort on the Australian side to break into Chinese consumer and producer markets. The much-quoted “dining boom” will require deeper integration with Chinese businesses across different industries and involve risks.

In many areas covered by the agreement, Australian businesses and their Chinese partners face a “liability of newness”. This will be particularly apparent in markets that are newly open to Australia including wealth management, insurance and private health care.

The Chinese market is highly fragmented and fiercely competitive. For example, China’s dairy supply chain is long and complex with many parties involved. To overcome supply chain constraints, agribusiness companies such as New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra have chosen to partner with Chinese food manufacturers.

Australian business are now investing in supply chains that stretch from the Australian countryside to Chinese consumers in second and third-tier cities. This investment requires new infrastructure at both ends to convert lower tariffs into better consumer prices. This could mean a new way of economic engagement between Australian and Chinese businesses.

Previously, Australia-China trade was characterised by large resource deals with a small number of multinational corporations. Increasingly, we will see an increasing number of smaller deals involving many more parties. These deals will require a more sophisticated understanding of the Chinese market and closer coordination with Chinese partners.

In the services sector, the ground for new markets and products has only been established by recent reforms. Xi initiated these with his deregulation agenda during the Third Plenum in November 2013. Australian providers will be among the first to trial these new policies.

If experience from previous reforms is anything to go by, early movers will reap huge benefits. However, as Chinese domestic competitors increase in number and sophistication, they will also exert pressure on Australian service providers. For example, the increasingly globalised Chinese banks are undergoing rapid reform to improve their performance and competitiveness.

Australian manufacturers will need to invest time and effort to build personal relationships and inter-organisational trust. Results from a recent Australia China Business Council survey show that on average Australian businesses spent around 12 months researching the China market before entry. Building effective personal relationships and inter-organisational trust can take much longer than that. These manufacturers will be keen to enter Chinese domestic supply chains and through their Chinese contacts gain access to global value chains.

Chinese direct investments in Australia will increasingly play a bridging role between businesses on both sides. The easing of investment approvals for Chinese private investors is important. It will enable smaller Chinese investors who are closer to their domestic consumer market to partner Australian business seeking access to consumers and supply chains. The lifting of the investment threshold to $1.1 billion for private investors will mean increasing numbers of Chinese businesses enter Australia to invest.

The new Free Trade Agreement with China has raised fears of for mining safety standards, in light of new terms which will allow Chinese mine owners to bring in their own Chinese workers on temporary work visas.

Australian Mining Association chairman George Edwards told SBS he feared Chinese workers were used to lower safety standards, which would make it difficult for them to operate in an environment with higher standards.

Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy CEO Michael Catchpole said workers’ skill levels should be of the standard expected in Australia.

“As far as the FTA is concerned, we would want to ensure that if miners are brought in at a technical, operational or professional level that they have the required skills and training, and that they work within the same health and safety conditions that we expect in all Australian operations,” he said.

However, Catchpole also expressed his concern about the impact of bringing in temporary workers in a period of rising levels of mining industry unemployment.

“Mining professionals in Australia are experiencing a level of unemployment that really we haven’t seen in more than a decade,” he said.

Catchpole indicated unemployment among geologists and mining engineers is more than double the national figure of 6.2 per cent.

Earlier this year it was found the unemployment level among geologists was 14.8 per cent, and in Western Australia that rate soared as high as 19.6 per cent.

Last week the WA Resources Outlook forecast a 20 per cent drop in the requirement for mining labour in the state over the next six years.

“Any moves that could further exacerbate unemployment across the professional sector would be of concern,” Catchpole said.

“As a professional services organisation we are very interested in what provisions in the FTA that assist mining service organisations to extend their business in China.”

The new Free Trade Agreement will allow Chinese workers to be brought in on infrastructure projects worth $150 million or more, far lower than the existing threshold of $2billion, according to Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney.

“We have fears that they have lowered the threshold so low … and this could be a real problem for Australian workers,” she said.

Employment minister Eric Abetz said unemployed Australians should see the Free Trade Agreement as “a very real opportunity for them, their families, their sons and daughters, to be able to gain employment in circumstances where we now have access to the world’s largest market,” he told ABC.

When asked if Australian workers could be shut out of employment by Chinese companies specifying a requirement to speak Mandarin or Cantonese, Abetz said he could not see that being widespread, albeit a potential need for a small number of jobs.

“They would have to make out a very strong case as to why, in Australia, where we speak Australian, why the particular language skill is so vital,” he said.

Senator Abetz warned that this would not be an opportunity for Chinese companies to undercut Australian pay conditions.

“If people want to play that game then they will have the full force of the Australian law to deal with,” he said.

Chinese banking figure Li Ruogu, who is chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of China, applauded the opening of labour freedoms to Chinese companies, but asked for labour issues to be reconsidered for greater freedom, according to The Australian.

“We know it is very difficult, but if Australia can give permission for Chinese labourers to help with infrastructure construction, then the mines and other projects we both need will be completed ­quickly, and the workers will go back to China. They won’t remain in Australia,” he said.

“Then Australia will employ local people to work in those mines and other infrastructure. That will be good for employment, and therefore beneficial for Australia.”

Li acknowledged this would be difficult to pass through the Australian parliament, and added “but Australian labour costs are too high”.

He said that in return it should be easier for Australian companies to get listings on Chinese stockmarkets, which would make it easier to raise capital for Australian projects.

The landmark China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) will unlock substantial new benefits for Australians for years to come.

ChAFTA will add billions to the economy, create jobs and drive higher living standards for Australians.

Australian businesses will have unprecedented access to the world’s second largest economy. It greatly enhances our competitive position in key areas such as agriculture, resources and energy, manufacturing exports, services and investment.

Building on trade deals already concluded with Korea and Japan, ChAFTA forms part of a powerful trifecta of agreements with Australia’s three largest export markets that account for more than 61 per cent of our exports of goods.

More than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports will be tariff free upon entry into force, rising to 93 per cent in four years. Some of these goods are currently subject to tariffs of up to 40 per cent.

On full implementation of ChAFTA, 95 per cent of Australian goods exports to China will be tariff free.

Australian households and businesses will also reap the benefits of cheaper goods and components from China such as vehicles, household goods, electronics and clothing, placing downward pressure on the cost of living and the cost of doing business.

Significantly, tariffs will be abolished for Australia’s $13 billion dairy industry. Australia’s beef and sheep farmers will also gain from the abolition of tariffs ranging from 12-25 per cent and all tariffs on Australian horticulture will be eliminated.

Tariffs on Australian wine of 14 to 30 per cent will go within four years, while restrictive tariffs on a wide range of seafood, including abalone, rock lobster, and southern bluefin tuna will also cease within four years.

Tariffs will also be removed on a range of Australian resources and energy products, including the eight per cent tariff on aluminium oxide on the first day of the Agreement, benefitting our exports worth around $1.3 billion a year. The tariffs on coking coal will be removed on day one, with the tariff on thermal coal phasing out over two years.

Tariffs will be also eliminated on a wide range of Australian manufactured goods, including pharmaceutical products and car engines.

The Australian Government has secured the best ever market access provided to a foreign country by China on services, with enormous scope to build on an export market already worth $7 billion.

Legal services, financial services, education, telecommunications, tourism and travel, construction and engineering, health and aged care services, mining and extractive industries, manufacturing services, architecture and urban planning, as well as transport, among others, will all benefit from being able to do business in China more easily.

A key feature of ChAFTA is a built-in mechanism to allow for further liberalisation and the expansion of market access over time, including a first review mechanism within three years. This places Australia in a strong position to secure additional gains as China undergoes further economic reform into the future.

ChAFTA contains investment provisions which will boost and diversify our bilateral investment relationship with China. The Chinese Government estimates total outbound investment of US$1.25 trillion (A$1.44 trillion) over the next 10 years.

ChAFTA will promote further Chinese investment in Australia by raising the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) screening threshold for private companies from China in non-sensitive areas from $248 million to $1,078 million.

Consistent with the promise made by the Coalition at the last election, the Government will be able to screen investment proposals by private investors from China in agricultural land valued from $15 million and agribusiness from $53 million.

Furthermore, FIRB will continue to screen proposed investments by Chinese State Owned Enterprises regardless of value. These provisions are consistent with Australia’s trade agreements with Korea and Japan.

ChAFTA will also contain an Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. This will enable Australians to invest in China with greater confidence. The ISDS provisions contain strong safeguards to protect the Australian Government’s ability to regulate in the public interest and pursue legitimate welfare objectives in areas such as health, safety and the environment.

With a view to maximising the benefits of the FTA for business, Australia and China have also agreed to review their bilateral taxation arrangements, including relief from double taxation.

Negotiations for a free trade agreement with China commenced under the Howard Government in 2005 and languished between 2007 and 2013.

China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner in goods and services (valued at more than $150 billion in 2013), our largest goods export destination ($95 billion in 2013), and our largest source of goods imports ($47 billion in 2013). China is Australia’s largest services export market ($7 billion in 2013).

ChAFTA assures the future competitiveness of our exports. Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb and Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng today signed a Declaration of Intent in the presence of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Parliament House in Canberra.

Both countries have undertaken to conduct respective legal reviews of the concluded text and prepare Chinese and English language versions for signature in 2015.

 

 

Prime Minister
Minister for Trade and Investment

The mining sector has welcomed a new free-trade agreement (FTA) signed with China yesterday; a deal that was 10 years in negotiations which will lift export tariffs and provide for the importation of Chinese labour.

The FTA eliminates all Chinese tariffs on Australian resources and energy products.

Coking coal tariffs in China will be lifted immediately, and thermal coal tariffs will be gone within two years.

With 14 agreements affecting various Australian export industries, the deal is one of the most significant China has ever signed with a developed country, federal trade minister Andrew Robb said.

The new FTA will also allow China to bring skilled labourers to work on major Australian projects.

Robb has insisted this is no different to current legislation.

“It means that if there are no Australian labourers available – and it won’t be labourers, it will be skilled workers – for a particular project, they will be able to apply to get an investment facilitation agreement,” he said.

Labor opposition highlighted that the government has refused to release the full details of the FTA.

Senate opposition leader Penny Wong said the text of the agreement would not be released until after it has been signed next year.

NSW mining said the new agreement will help to underpin future investment in NSW and help to secure jobs.

China accounts for 22 per cent of NSW coal exports, up from 1.1 per cent in 2007-08.

The International Energy Agency estimated that global demand for electricity may double on 2009 levels by 2035, and NSW Mining said coal is forecast to meet than increase in the next five years, over and above oil or gas.

Talk radio shock jock and Liberal supporter Alan Jones criticised Prime Minister Tony Abbott for the deal on air yesterday, criticising the purchasing freedoms the new agreement will allow China in Australia.

“Can Tony Abbott go and buy a farm in China? No, the answer is no Prime Minister, the answer is no he can’t, nor can he buy a coal mine, nor can he buy a steel mill.”

Jones said the new agreement would fail the “pub test” and affect the Liberal party at the next federal election.

Metal-Expo’2014, the 20th Jubilee International Industrial Exhibition with 650 exhibitors from 35 world countries was held on November 11-14 in Moscow. Around 30 000 users of ferrous and non-ferrous products from different industry segments including construction, heavy engineering, fuel & energy, transportation & logistics, steel trading, research etc. visited the event. The majority of exhibitors sum up their participation as highly efficient expressing intention to exhibit in the next Metal-Expo event.

It’s our 7th continuous attending to the Expo. We meet old friends here, and know new friends as well.

See you next year, METAL-EXPO 2015, in Moscow.

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工业4.0。德国学术界和产业界认为，未来10年，基于信息物理系统（Cyber-Physical System，CPS）的智能化，将使人类步入以智能制造为主导的第四次工业革命。产品全生命周期和全制造流程的数字化以及基于信息通信技术的模块集成，将形成一个高度灵活、个性化、数字化的产品与服务的生产模式。
“工业4.0”为我们展现了一幅全新的工业蓝图：在一个“智能、网络化的世界”里，物联网和务联网（服务互联网技术）将渗透到所有的关键领域，创造新价值的过程逐步发生改变，产业链分工将重组，传统的行业界限将消失，并会产生各种新的活动领域和合作形式。
首先，工业4.0将使得工业生产过程更加灵活、坚强。这将使得动态的、适时优化的和自我组织的价值链成为现实，并带来诸如成本、可利用性和资源消耗等不同标准的最优化选择。包括在制造领域的所有因素和资源间形成全新的循环网络、智能产品独特的可识别性、个性化产品定制以及高度灵活的工作环境等。
其次，工业4.0将发展出全新的商业模式和合作模式。这些模式将力争确保潜在的商业利润在整个价值链所有利益相关人之间公平地共享，包括那些新进入的利益相关人。同时，工业4.0“网络化制造”、“自我组织适应性强的物流”和“集成客户的制造工程”等特征，也使得它追求新的商业模式以率先满足动态的商业网络而非单个公司，这将引发一系列诸如融资、发展、可靠性、风险、责任和知识产权以及技术安全等问题。
再次，工业4.0将带来工作方式和环境的全新变化。全新的协作工作方式使得工作可以脱离工厂，通过虚拟的、移动的方式开展。员工将拥有高度的管理自主权，可以更加积极地投入和调节自己的工作。同时，随着工作环境和工作方式的巨大改变，可以大幅度提升老年人和妇女的就业比例，确保人口结构的变化不会影响当前的生活水平。
最后，工业4.0将促进形成全新的信息物理系统平台。全新的信息物理系统平台能够联系到所有参与的人员、物体和系统，将提供全面、快捷、安全可靠的服务和应用业务流程，支持移动终端设备和业务网络中的协同制造、服务、分析和预测流程等，如图2所示。

We just completed a after-sales service on the P&H excavator parts, including the sprockets etc.