The Chinese foreign minister has expressed some reluctance over suggestions Beijing could sign Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in the wake of America's withdrawal.
Wang Yi met with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Canberra on Tuesday evening and the pair talked up the importance of the free trade agenda and combating growing protectionism globally.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month floated the possibility of Beijing entering the TPP as a way to salvage the deal.
Ms Bishop reiterated the open invitation.
"There's is always the opportunity for other nations, prepared to meet those standards and embrace the principles of the TPP, to join," Ms Bishop told reporters in Canberra.
"I would certainly encourage China to consider the agreement."
But Mr Wang hinted China was looking for less prescriptive trade agreements that were open and inclusive.
"It should fully accommodate the level of comfort of all parties and reflect the different levels of development of different countries," he said through an interpreter.
Some experts have cast doubt over China's ability to meet the TPP's strict standards on anti-corruption, environmental and labour regulations.
Mr Wang is hopeful the negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes Australia, India and Southeast Asian countries, will be finalised this year.
Mr Wang said the RCEP and TPP were pathways towards a larger goal of an Asia-Pacific free trade area.
"Maybe one path is not working for the moment but there are other pathways," he said.
Meanwhile, a Labor and Greens-dominated Senate committee has recommended the federal government defer any legislation to implement the TPP in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out.
The committee report, tabled in parliament on Tuesday night, recommends the government wait until the future of the deal is clarified through further negotiations.
But the government is expected to push ahead with plans to introduce legislation to parliament this week to ratify the deal, in the hope the US president may have a change of heart.
