Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the white paper launch.
Camera IconPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the white paper launch.

Government in fresh push for trade deals

Paul Osborne, AAP Senior Political WriterAAP

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Australia is aiming to have free trade agreements with countries that account for more than 80 per cent of trade by 2020, under a new foreign policy blueprint.

The goal was included in the first foreign policy white paper in 14 years launched by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Trade Minister Steve Ciobo in Canberra on Thursday.

As well, Australia will develop a new "national brand" to market the country's commercial, educational and cultural credentials to the world.

Australia has FTAs with ASEAN and nine individual countries including the nation's largest trading partner, China, accounting for 64 per cent of total trade.

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The government's immediate priority is an economic partnership with Indonesia, but the wheels are also in motion with the European Union, Hong Kong, India, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Peru and the UK, as well as revising the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

"If we're able to conclude in the near future deals with Hong Kong, India, the EU and the UK, for example, we'll more than surpass that 80 per cent target," Mr Ciobo said.

Painting a broader picture of Australia's foreign policy, Mr Turnbull pointed to trade and investment - as well as all countries playing by international rules - as a key factor in ensuring the future peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

"This is the first time in our history that our dominant trading partner (China) is not also our dominant security partner (US). We must see this as an opportunity not as a risk," Mr Turnbull said.

The white paper presented a "framework for facing the challenges of an uncertain future with confidence," he said, while issuing a warning to those nations inclined to use their military muscle in the region.

"We will never agree that 'might is right'," he said.

Asked whether he saw Australia working closer with China on its multi-billion-dollar "belt and road" infrastructure plan, Mr Turnbull said the government would continue to approach individual projects on their merits and uphold the national interest.

"It is a positive, it is a strong relationship, but you get back to this fact: that we and we alone here in Australia determine what is in our national interest," Mr Turnbull told reporters.

"People respect us for being very blunt, very frank, very straight."

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the opposition welcomed the focus on the "shape and stability of the regional order" and agreed Australia should approach the coming period with confidence.

But she said there were gaps in the blueprint, such as no mechanism to deal with climate change and an erosion in aid funding in recent budgets.

"When it comes to China, my view is we invest in the relationship, we seek to work together as much as we are able and we are prepared to stand up for our interests and our values," she said.

The blueprint sets out five objectives:

* Promoting an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region in which the rights of all states are respected;

* Standing against protectionism and promoting business;

* Ensuring Australians are safe, secure and free in the face of threats such as terrorism;

* Promoting and protecting international rules;

* Greater support for the Pacific and Timor-Leste.