SYDNEY-- BHP Billiton Ltd.'s chief executive has said closer
trade links between Australia and China, including fewer barriers
to foreign investment, would be good for the Australian economy,
which has slowed as a decadelong commodity boom fades.
"I think it is a positive step for Australia unquestionably to
more intimately tie Australia to the main market for resources
going forward and to provide some of that security," Andrew
Mackenzie said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "It
creates a philosophy of greater co-dependence going forward," even
for industries such as mining that don't face trade hurdles such as
tariffs, he said Wednesday.
Australia believes it can reach a free-trade deal with China by
year's end. It has completed deals this year with Japan and South
Korea.
Mr. Mackenzie acknowledged, however, that free-trade deals can
be a "tough political sell." Overseas investment in Australia
continues to be a sensitive issue in the country.
In free-trade negotiations with Australia, Beijing has sought
more-generous treatment of foreign investment, lower manufacturing
tariffs and smoother visa arrangements for Chinese in
Australia.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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