Closer China ties crucial after Iran attack, says logistics chief

Iran’s attack on Israel will disrupt supply chains, logistics chief Christine Holgate said as she advocated stronger co-operation with China.

Christine Holgate, Team Global Express CEO, said closer ties between Australia and China are crucial after Iran’s attack on Israel. Picture: Sam Babus/SB Creatives Photography

Iran’s attack on Israel will disrupt international trade and supply chains, logistics chief Christine Holgate said as she advocated stronger co-operation with China amid improving relations.

Speaking at an Australia-Chinese business forum on Monday, the chief executive of logistics company Team Global Express said she made “no judgment” about the weekend launch of more than 300 drones and missiles. The Iranian strikes were largely thwarted.

“But I can tell you, it will make international trade harder,” she told the forum in Sydney.

“It is going to bring new complexity to supply chains. It makes the relationship between China and Australia even more important.”

At the event organised by the top Chinese government trade promotion agency, Chinese officials and businesspeople from both countries encouraged closer economic ties between the countries.

“Since last year, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister, Mr (Anthony) Albanese, China-Australia relations have set sail again and are standing at a new high and a new starting point of historic importance,” said Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Mr Hongbin is leading a 100-strong Chinese business delegation - the largest since 2017 - that is exploring commercial opportunities with Australian partners.

“Fifty-two years ago, when the world was still shrouded in the dark shadow of the Cold War, visionary statesmen of both countries made the courageous decision to establish diplomatic relations and opened the door to friendship and co-operation between China and Australia,” Mr Hongbin said.

Since then, bilateral trade has grown from less than $US100bn to nearly $US230bn, he said, adding that “China-Australia relations are mutually beneficial”.

Mr Hongbin’s comments come after Beijing lifted heavy tariffs on Australian wine last month, following the removal in 2023 of duties on Australian barley that the world’s second largest economy imposed at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.

“We all agree that the two countries have undergone some difficult times. But we think that it can be a short episode in the long history (and) long-standing tradition between our two countries,” Mr Hongbin said.

Earlier this month, Beijing marked Australia as a priority location for Chinese businesses to expand as bilateral relationships improve between the countries.

Mr Hongbin encouraged more “pragmatic co-operation” between businesses of the two nations and said the CCPIT was ready to help “elevate the China-Australia business co-operation to a new level”.

“Nowadays China will adhere to high standard open policy and pursue China’s modernisation through high quality development. We do believe that China’s new development will bring new opportunities for our trade partners, including Australia.”

He said enterprises from both countries should pursue two-way investment and opportunities in traditional fields like energy and mining, but also in emerging areas such as low-carbon development, digital technology and healthcare.

“With different resource endowments and a highly complementary industrial structure, China and Australia enjoy great potential for investment co-operation,” Mr Hongbin said.

Australia has also been trying to send positive signals back to its biggest trading partner.

Ms Holgate’s Team Global Express and three other Australian companies signed a co-operation agreement securing their participation in the second China International Supply Chain Expo.

Ms Holgate said she recently returned from a trip to China, and was excited about the opportunities for the two countries to work together.

She noted that even with “a few obstacles and a couple of tensions” in the past eight years, two-way trade between Australia and China had more than doubled.

“If we can surpass the ambition of doubling our trade when tensions are complicated, what can we do now that we have … our president and our prime minister bringing our countries back together again.”