Pandas might have dominated the headlines when the Chinese Premier visited South Australia, but the only other state Li Qiang is visiting has bigger ambitions.
Forget wine and pandas, it's all about precious rocks and minerals as China's Premier Li Qiang heads westCute and cuddly pandas might have dominated the headlines when the Chinese Premier visited South Australia, but the only other state Li Qiang is visiting has bigger ambitions.
The hope is those minerals will deliver the next boom for Western Australia, replicating the success which has flowed from the iron ore buried beneath the state's unforgiving and expansive surface.Last year, WA received about $8 billion in royalties from iron ore exports to China — accounting for about a fifth of the state government's bottom line.
"Australia is blessed with large deposits of these critical minerals, which is essential to the green economy, so China will be looking to shore up its supply chains so that it gets as much access as it is able to."That's where the tension lies for Australia which, on the one hand, stands to benefit significantly from building new trading relationships with China around these new minerals.
The concern is what the head of the Perth US-Asia Centre, Gordon Flake, is China's "extreme" monopoly over the processing of the minerals. "There isn't a call for the government to take over the industry, but to at least carve out a percentage of that supply chain so as to deny China the capability of monopoly behaviour.
"The problem in this area is that prices have been really controlled by the Chinese because they can push the price down and just make Australian developments uneconomical until such a time as they're sort of bleeding from every orifice," he told the ABC's AM program.China wants to strengthen economic ties, while the Australian government is hoping Beijing will soon remove the last few remaining trade sanctions it has placed on Australian goods.
Wa News Wa Pols Wa Politics Chinese Premier Li Qiang Anthony Albanese Chinese Premier Visit Auspol
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says China Premier Li Qiang will visit this weekIt will be the first trip to the nation by a Chinese premier since Li Keqiang's visit in 2017.
Read more »
Anthony Albanese lauds 'renewed and revitalised' relationship with China after meeting with Premier Li QiangAnthony Albanese met with China&x27;s second-most-powerful politician as protesters clashed outside parliament.
Read more »
Anthony Albanese to meet China's Premier Li Qiang for high-level talks in CanberraAnthony Albanese is expected to use a speech in front of China's Premier Li Qiang to declare that while the countries have some 'competing views' there are opportunities to be found.
Read more »
China-Australia relations 'back on track', says Chinese Premier Li QiangChina&x27;s Premier Li Qiang is touring an Adelaide winery before heading off to Canberra as part of a four-day trip to Australia.
Read more »
China's Premier Li Qiang says ties are 'back on track' as he arrives in AustraliaThe visit is the first by a Chinese premier in seven years, and is expected to pave the way for President Xi Jinping’s first journey to Australia since 2014.
Read more »
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives in Australia as panda speculation mounts7NEWS brings you the latest local news from Australia and around the world. Stay up to date with all of the breaking sport, politics, entertainment, finance, weather and business headlines. Today's news, live updates & all the latest breaking stories from 7NEWS.
Read more »