Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

Under the China-Australia free trade agreement, China will permit Australian medical service suppliers to establish wholly Australian-owned hospital institutions in China. This will greatly expand the opportunity for the private health sector to offer medical services in China. In practical terms, Australian healthcare providers will now be able to take their world-class expertise into this emerging market. They will be able to build Australian-owned hospitals and nursing homes in China and, most importantly, train the staff to run them.

This FTA will also provide major benefits to Australia and to the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, because tariffs on these products will be progressively phased out within four years. China already imports more than half a billion dollars' worth of pharmaceuticals a year. The China-Australia FTA gives Australian healthcare businesses are fantastic opportunity when they enter or do business with one of the world's fastest growing economies.