Mr BRERETON —My question is directed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs representing the Minister for Trade. Minister, why has your department advised the Anti-Dumping Authority that it no longer considers China to be a command or non-market economy for the purpose of applying Australia's anti-dumping laws? Exactly how has the Chinese economy changed since the publication in August of a DFAT country economic brief on China, a report which highlighted the continuing domination of the Chinese economy by state-owned enterprises? Is it not the case that DFAT's change of advice followed an undertaking given by your colleague Mr Fischer to China's minister for international foreign trade, Madam Wu Yi, in discussions on or about 1 September, which also concerned the axed DIFF scheme? Why should Australian manufacturers see this as anything other than a tawdry deal to repair the damage caused by your DIFF fiasco?

Mr DOWNER —As the honourable member rightly pointed out in his question, this is a question which, in normal circumstances, would be directed to the Minister for Trade. But as my colleagues pointed out, in light of the length of the question, I was able to go through the minister's folder and find the appropriate answer on the Chinese anti-dumping matter. I can tell the House—since you seem to be, for reasons which are almost totally incomprehensible, linking this to the DIFF issue—that the Minister for Trade discussed this issue with Madam Wu Yi, China's minister for foreign trade and economic cooperation, when he met her in Beijing in September.

The Minister for Trade asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to review the issue to ensure our policies were still appropriate. Over a period of nearly two decades, China has clearly undergone profound economic reform and structural change in its transition from a centrally planned economy to a more market based system. Two cases which have come up recently—one concerning laminated glass and the other glyphosate acid—have provided an opportunity to scrutinise the prevailing market situation for those industries in China.

Australian Customs officials visited China in October to undertake two in-country investigations on these products. They found that in these specific instances they had not identified any recent instances of dumping. Their investigations do not mean that we have made a decision to change Australia's position with regard to China as a centrally planned economy or non-market economy. Such a specific determination is not in fact required under the Customs Act.