China wants a free trade agreement with Australia.

[fourandsixpants]

What would be the pros and cons of this?

[fourandsixpants]

...even cheaper *bleeping* imports of inferior quality......geez this will encourage our own manufacturers.

Instead of giving away our agricultural fare and minerals  - we could simply 'gift' our resources

[cherry*135]

 pro - Increased foreign trade = more jobs for Australians

I read yesterday James Packer has about as many, if not more, investments in China than he does in Australia.

[fourandsixpants]

ref. "pro - Increased foreign trade = more jobs for Australians".......don't you mean 'some jobs' for Australians as there are not many jobs at the moment?

[cherry*135]

don't you mean 'some jobs' for Australians as there are not many jobs at the moment

???

There are more than 11 million people employed in Australia (ft/pt/casual/seasonal). 712 000 unemployed.

Free trade agreements with China, Japan & Korea = more jobs, than are currently available now.

Imported goods may be cheaper to buy here under a free trade agreement. Not every good that comes from these countries is cheap rubbish.