Australia and China are on track to seal a free trade deal in the next few days, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott remains tight-lipped on any last-minute concessions.
Both nations are keen to reach an agreement before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Canberra next week.
"There's just one or two i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed," Mr Abbott told reporters in Beijing at the APEC leaders summit.
"I don't want to dwell on difficulties. I want to look optimistically to the future."
There were no guarantees that the deal would be perfect.
"We're trying to build a house. Let's build the first storey and then in a year or two we can build a second storey or maybe even a third," Mr Abbott said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, while wanting a good deal with China, is concerned the government is disguising any bad news in the agreement with titbits of good news.
"So I think it is appropriate for the opposition to ask the government - less spin, just tell us what's in it and tell us what's not," he told ABC radio.
Labor is concerned the agreement will allow the employment of Chinese workers at the expense of Australians and wants safeguards to maximise domestically filled jobs.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who has been leading the final negotiations, insists any agreement will ensure all visiting workers must be paid in accordance with Australian law and will not allow cheap Chinese labour.
Farmers want a so-called "New Zealand-Plus" agreement for a number of Australian commodities, that would give them a better deal than NZ secured.
National Farmers Federation chief Simon Talbot says agricultural exports to China have grown 25 to 30 per cent annually with high tariffs.
If they were removed there would be an even greater chance to improve farmgate prices.
"If we are to realise moving the economy from mining boom to dining boom we need to open China up," he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, Mr Abbott played down claims it was provocative of the US to kick off Trans-Pacific Partnership talks on the sidelines of APEC in Beijing, considering China is excluded from negotiations.
"Once the TPP has been concluded other countries are welcome to accede to it," he said.
