- China wins more flexibility in foreign investment but not for state owned companies
- Xi Jinping urges Australia to embrace 'harmonious' partnership with Beijing
- Analysis: Australia wins good trade deal, reassurance from China
- Australia-China FTA provides opportunities for Australian financial services
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China's President Xi Jinping has used his address to the Australian Parliament to send an emphatic message to this country and the wider world: trust us, and everyone's a winner.
Accepting Barack Obama's weekend invitation in Brisbane to answer some hard questions about China's ambitions, Xi delivered a supremely confident – and emphatically reassuring - reply.
Acknowledging that some were worried about whether "the big guy" intended to "push them around, stand in their way to take their place", the Chinese leader articulated what he called a "new vision" of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
If he needed an example of what he called his "virtuous cycle of development and security", he could point to no better a case study than the free trade memorandum of understanding he was about to sign.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb described it as the most sophisticated trade deal China has struck with any country "by a long shot" - and the documents released on Monday appeared to back that assessment.
For Tony Abbott, the combination of the Xi message and the trade deal represented an unqualified triumph after the uncomfortable focus on climate change at the G20. No wonder he remarked that "no Chinese leader has ever been anything like such a good friend to Australia".
The President's speech was well received in Parliament too, with the Greens joining in the standing ovation, even if (for some), it was just to be civil. Clive Palmer politely, if gently, clapped his hands.
No one element of Xi's address was strikingly new, but in total it represented a most comprehensive exposition of China's intentions - and appeared to be framed as a direct response to Obama's weekend challenge.
On Saturday the American President observed that China would inevitably play a critical role in world affairs. "The question is: what kind of role will it play?" he asked.
It was essentially the same question Bill Clinton posed when he addressed the Parliament in 1996, and said the way China defined its greatness would help decide "whether next century is one of conflict or co-operation".
In reply, Xi was unequivocal. Having been ravaged by the turmoil of war, China would never subject another country to such an ordeal.
"A harmonious and stable domestic environment and a peaceful international environment are what China needs most," he added, vowing to "promote the rule of law".
On the question of differences and inevitable disputes, he quoted what he described as an unfamiliar Australian saying. "Keep your eyes on the sun, and you will not see the shadows," he said.
"China and Australia differ in history, culture, social systems, and stage of development, so, it's natural for us to disagree on some issues.
"What is important is that we keep in the right direction of bilateral relations, talk candidly, seek common ground despite differences and meet each other halfway."
On Tuesday, the mood of bonhomie will continue when it falls to Abbott's newest best friend, India's Narendra Modi, to become the third foreign leader to address the national Parliament in the space of five days.
