Ben Westcott

Australia’s budget will record a surplus for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, before higher interest rates weigh on economic growth and push the government’s books back into the red.

(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s center-left Labor government is taking a path of fiscal restraint as it tries to strengthen its economic credibility and buttress the central bank’s efforts to rein in elevated inflation.Most Read from BloombergVanguard’s Trillion-Dollar Man Leads a Fixed-Income RevolutionTrump Liable for Sex Abuse, Must Pay $5 Million to CarrollItaly Intends to Exit China Belt and Road Pact as Relations SourGoldman to Pay $215 Million to End Case on Underpaying WomenSteve Schwarzman H

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell will head to China on Thursday for the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ top trade officials since 2019 in yet another sign of warming relations between Beijing and Canberra.

China and Australia’s trade ministers will hold their first in-person economic dialog since 2019 on Friday as Canberra hopes to negotiate an end to sanctions on billions of dollars worth of its agricultural exports.

Australia’s center-left Labor government has approved its first new coal mine since it came to power a year ago, in a boost to the country’s lucrative fossil fuel industry.

Australia’s wine exports to China could take years to recover fully after any easing of steep tariffs, the head of Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. said, as frosty ties between the two countries show signs of thawing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Australia next week for top level political meetings and events with the Indian diaspora, in spite of the last-minute cancellation of the Sydney Quad summit following a decision by US President Joe Biden to call off his trip.

In the latest sign of a thaw in economic and diplomatic relations, Australian timber exports to China will be allowed to resume immediately after more than two years of restrictions.

Good morning everyone, it's Ben here and welcome to Wednesday. This is what’s making headlines today.Today’s must-reads:• Qantas foreshadows lucrative post-Covid era• Building approvals slump amid housing crisis• PwC’s auditor role under examination

Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell will head to Brussels this weekend for the final rounds of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the European Union, which both sides signaled may be completed by the end of the European summer.