MFN will bring more Chinese investment to Australia: minister

CANBERRA -- The Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause in the historic free trade agreement between Australia and China will see future Chinese investment gains flow into the Australian economy, Trade Minister Andrew Robb said Friday.

The minister said in an interview with Fairfax Media that the MFN clause "means that we will automatically receive the same treatment provided by China to any other country in the future, including the European Union (EU) and the United States."

The minister also revealed that a review of all provisions within the MFN deal would take place after three years and then again every five years after the initial evaluation.

"On most fronts, if not all, those will be protected, locked in, in the future when China make concessions with other countries," he said, adding, "Overall, this means we have substantially ( greater) preferential arrangements than any other trading partner. "

China and Australia signed a declaration of intent on practically concluding bilateral negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) on November 17, 2014.

According to the results of the nine-year-long talks, Australia will eventually remove tariffs on all goods imported from China, and a vast majority of Australian products will enter China tariff- free.