The proposed legislation exempts private enterprises, including with state-owned enterprises. In October 2019, Andrews reached a “framework agreement” with China, which promised to establish a roadmap for cooperation in certain initiatives. A DFAT spokesman said the federal government was neither consulted nor had the opportunity to comment on the signing of the Victoria Framework Agreement with China last October. “What VA has been doing for 70 years now is working on trade and economic opportunities with overseas countries and countries, and it has worked well for VA,” he said. Foreign affairs fall within the competence of the Commonwealth. The prime minister said the Belt and Road Initiative “underscores Victoria`s desire to cooperate with China,” that “the talents and capabilities of Chinese companies are critical to our success,” and that their “collective expertise and experience, especially in recent projects of considerable scale and complexity, are exactly in line with our current agenda.” And it wasn`t until November 2018, according to the Australian Institute of China Relations at the University of Technology, that new Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in an interview with a Beijing-based business magazine that the Belt and Road deal was “useless” if it could not be used to resolve trade tensions. In light of Morrison`s announcement, Andrews said he hoped the prime minister would soon release a list of potential free trade agreements and details of other export markets Victoria should focus on. The Prime Minister also criticized the scope of future legislation, which would allow them to review agreements such as urban relations. Victorian Trade Minister Martin Pakula informed Parliament`s Accounts and Public Estimates Committee that he had expressed concerns about the continuation of the dispute with the Consulate General of the People`s Republic of China in Melbourne and Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. The Victorian government has directly expressed concerns to China about the escalation of trade tensions between China and Australia. Prime Minister Daniel Andrews followed Prime Minister Scott Morrison in strongly condemning a propaganda image shared by the Chinese government on social media, but said it would have no bearing on the Victoria Belt and Road accords with Beijing. . .
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