A foreign private equity fund controlled by an Australian company has recently got registered in China. Analysts said it reflects improving China-Australia ties while also offering a vote of confidence in China's development prospects.
According to the Asset Management Association of China, Jiamin Private Equity Fund Management (Shanghai) Co, a foreign wholly owned private equity and venture capital fund manager, was registered on November 24, with registered capital of 100 million yuan ($14.08 million), domestic news outlet nbd.com.cn reported on Friday.
It said the controller of the company is Goodman Group, an Australian integrated commercial and industrial property group that owns, develops and manages real estate.
Representatives of major Australian exporters participating in the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) expressed high hopes for further bilateral trade. They emphasized the importance of trade with China, as there is strong complementarity between the two countries' economies.
"Australian companies' increasing presence in the Chinese market sends a positive sign of their expectations for improving China-Australia relations, while underscoring their confidence in China's development prospects," Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
This is partly a result of warming China-Australia relations, which creates a sound environment for bilateral trade and two-way investments, Chen said. "China's steady economic recovery and firm commitment to high-level opening-up has also drawn an inflow of Australian capital," he said.
As bilateral ties continue to improve, more cooperation potential will be unleashed in sectors such as the green economy, Chen noted, building on the foundations in existing areas of cooperation.
China and Australia have been working together to resolve trade disputes, including the recent lifting of tariffs on Australian barley. China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that it will review anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures imposed on wine products imported from Australia, and will decide whether the punitive tariffs are still necessary.
Australia will not shut the door on Chinese investment in critical minerals projects despite US efforts to break China's dominance in the sector, which is vital for the energy transition, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco, the Australian Financial Review reported on November 16.
"We need the investment whether it's the Europeans, whether it's the Japanese, the Koreans, the Singaporeans, the US or China," he said.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $189.88 billion in the first 10 months of 2023, up 4 percent year-on-year.
