On Friday, the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet announced that, based on its review of the circumstances of the lease of the Port of Darwin, it would not vary or cancel a 99 year lease of the Port to Chinese company Landbridge Group.

Over the past few days, there have been developments in two WTO disputes involving China: The EU complaint against alleged Chinese restrictions on trade with Lithuania; and the Australian complaint against Chinese wine tariffs.

Over the last several years, there have been a number of products from Australia that were subject to import restrictions by China. One of the lesser-known of these products was hay. Reports indicate that these restrictions have now been removed.

During a press conference last week, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong offered comments on the upcoming China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue, China's outbound investment, trade disputes with Australia, and the implementation of export controls on gallium and germanium.

Today, Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Australian Prime Minister Albanese on the sideline of the East Asia Summit. In the meantime, the China-Australia first high-level dialogue took place in Beijing. The increase in high level communications shows a thaw in bilateral relations, which has been reflected in China'

On Friday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that it was lifting the anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties it had been imposing on Australian barley, resolving a long-running trade dispute.

A new report by Australia's Productivity Commission documents the impact of various Chinese trade restrictions imposed on Australian exports, showing a limited impact on some sectors, either because the measures were narrowly crafted or the producers found other markets.