The annual composition of trade report from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade shows the relationship powering ahead of others.
In 10 years two-way trade has risen from 5.1 per cent in 1999-2000 to 17.6 per cent in the last financial year.
Trade links with Japan and the United States are now more than $40 billion less than the Sino-Australian relationship.
The good news of the ever-strengthening Chinese relationship is balanced by the 8.7 per cent reduction in overall trade to $512.2 billion.
"The trade balance moved from a surplus of $7.6 billion in 2008-09 to a deficit of $3.8 billion in 2009-10," the report says.
The lingering impact of the global financial crisis is seen across the report with the value of exports down significantly.
This was despite the volume of exports growing 5.3 per cent.
Imports grew at a similar rate.
This decrease in (export) value highlights the sharp fall in Australia's rural, resources and energy exports prices in the first half of 2009-10 as demand from our key Asian markets softened," the report says.
"However commodity prices rebounded strongly in the last quarter of 2009-10."
On the commodity front the report shows coal, $36.4 billion, just nudged out iron ore, $35.1 billion, as the leading export.
Predictions show a strong return to positive territory for the export of agricultural commodities including wheat, up 28 per cent, and beef and veal, up 5.3 per cent while the second mining boom will go on unabated.
Share
