AUSTRALIA

The two bilateral agreements will provide Hong Kong companies with legal certainty of market access and national treatment for a comprehensive range of services in the Australian market, and allow Hong Kong to have better access to the pool of Australia’s talents, adding to the city’s strength as a services platform. More

The U.S. Senate on 4 December approved by unanimous consent the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, which reflects the upper chamber’s interest in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition to authorising bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade negotiations with Indo-Pacific nations, the legislation would encourage a robust U.S. commercial presence throughout the Indo-Pacific region to promote U.S. exports and additional trade facilitation efforts. More

Since December 2015, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) has entered into force. With staged tariff cuts, the value of Sino-Australia trade of goods jumped 20% in 2017 compared with 2015, while trade of goods between Hong Kong and Australia expanded even faster at 25%. Evidently, Hong Kong’s role as the key intermediary platform for mainland China’s trade with Australia has been reinforced rather than undermined. More