China and Australia have decided to hold the fifth round of Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations in May in Beijing, according to sources with the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

Both sides will start crucial talks on market admittance in the upcoming negotiations, said the ministry.

China and Australia finished the fourth round of negotiations on FTA construction in Australia's capital Canberra on Thursday.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, both sides discussed four topics in the four-day negotiations, namely the cargo trade, agricultural trade, service trade and legal issues.

A total of 28 Chinese delegates from 14 ministries participated in the negotiations.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2006)