Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the governments of Australia and China
ChAFTA established a landmark bilateral trade framework between Australia and China, entering into force in December 2015 after a decade of negotiations.
Key Facts
- Negotiations began
- 23 May 2005
- Negotiating rounds completed
- 21
- Deal completed
- 17 November 2014
- Agreement signed
- 17 June 2015
- Entered into force
- 20 December 2015
- Duration of negotiations
- Nearly 10 years
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
Australia and China conducted a joint feasibility study prior to 2005, determining that a bilateral free trade agreement would be mutually beneficial. The first formal negotiating round opened on 23 May 2005, launching what would become nearly a decade of talks spread across 21 rounds before the deal was concluded.
The China–Australia Free Trade Agreement was finalised on 17 November 2014 and formally signed by both governments on 17 June 2015. It then underwent the standard treaty-making process, including review by Australia's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties and the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, as well as China's domestic legal processes.
The agreement came into force on 20 December 2015, creating a binding bilateral free trade framework between Australia and China. This gave exporters, investors, and service providers in both countries preferential access and regulatory certainty under one of Australia's most significant trade agreements with its largest trading partner.
Political Outcome
The China–Australia Free Trade Agreement entered into force on 20 December 2015, establishing a bilateral free trade framework after nearly 10 years of negotiations.