Many products we use today are made in China. Trade between Australia and China has increased over the past two years. China has one of the largest economies in the world. It has an increasingly important role in shaping the world economy, accounting for one-third of the increase in global gross domestic product and imports over the period 2000 to 2003 (The Economist 2004). It is also home to a population of 1.3 billion, who consume a variety of goods from food to luxury products, toys, clothing, gifts, most car parts and many other things that Australia benefits from. For non-agricultural goods, Australian import tariffs are generally low. The most important exceptions concern motor vehicles and imports of textiles, clothing and footwear. However, Australia has committed to unilaterally reducing these tariffs over time, expecting tariffs on motor vehicles, textiles and footwear to fall to 5% by 2010, while tariffs on clothing will be reduced to 10% by 2010 and to 5% by 2010. by 2015. Product safety and quality are serious issues for Australia, which must be addressed quickly and transparent to maintain consumer trust. It is important to pursue a fact-based problem assessment to ensure an accurate understanding of the problems and address them with appropriate solutions. Most of these issues include worker safety in China and health issues raised regarding cheap Chinese products coming from China to Australia. .Australia has good political and economic relations with both China and Japan, neither of which wish to exclude Australia from a regional trading community. In most cases, Australian companies do not own these factories. Australian and multinational companies pay the fac...... middle of paper ......d, JH 2004, 'Economic determinants of free trade agreements', Journal of International Economics, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 29'' 63.• Balassa, B. 1965, 'Trade liberalization and comparative advantage 'revealed'', Manchester School of Economics and Social Studies, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 92'' 123.• Buetre, BL and Ahmadi-Esfahani, FZ 2000, 'Updating an input'' output table for use in policy analysis', Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 30'' 42.• Business Day, 2006, Cheap buys can sweep Australia http://www.businessday.com.au/business/cheap-buys-can-trash-australia-20080415-26di.html ? page=2ences.• Fitzgerald, S. 1997, Is Australia an Asian country? Can Australia survive in an East Asian future? Sydney: Allen and Unwind.• Milner, A. and M. Quality (eds.) 1998, Australia in Asia: Episodes, Melbourne: OUP