At a press conference, China's Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, announced that China had eased restrictions on Australian timber imports, and also discussed China's CPTPP entry and concerns about Chinese surveillance.

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who previously served as International Trade Secretary and Foreign Secretary, gave a speech yesterday at the Prospect Foundation in Taiwan, entitled "Taiwan: On the Frontline of Freedom and Democracy," in which she called for "an economic NATO" involving "coordination between countries that support freedom

Last week, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell traveled to China and met with his Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, as part of the continued effort to ease tensions in Australia-China trade and foreign relations.

During a recent press conference, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Commerce Wang Shouwen, after highlighting the benefits of China being part of the CPTPP, expressed hope that all members would support China's accession and stated that "China is capable of fulfilling its obligations under CPTPP."

As part of a report on "CPTPP: opportunities and challenges for the UK" that was published today, the UK House of Commons International Trade Committee considered the implications of China’s accession to the CPTPP.

With several trade meetings having now taken place, and additional high level ones on the horizon, China and Australia continue to make progress on improving their trade relations, even in the face of political hurdles such as an Australian security agreement with the U.S. and the UK, and new

Last week, there was some confusion over Australia's position on Taiwan's CPTPP application when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to suggest that Australia would not support Taiwan's bid to join, but subsequent statements seem to clarify that Australia will evaluate Taiwan's application on the merits.