SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA and China have agreed to speed up work on a free trade agreement following discussions on the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said.

Mr Rudd, who met China's President Hu Jintao in Washington following G-20 talks on tackling the financial meltdown, said no deadline for an agreement had yet been set.

'We've agreed to adopt a fresh approach to speeding up the conclusion of this agreement even more,' he told reporters in Washington on Sunday.

'I can't put a specific timeline on that, but we will be reviewing progress again when next we meet.' Mr Rudd, due to meet Mr Hu at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, said he was concerned to negotiate 'a balanced agreement which suits the long-term economic interest of both economies.'

'This is really important for us and for the Chinese long term,' he said.

'China has great interest in the Australian market in terms of long-term access to energy and raw materials. We have great interest to greater access to China's market in goods and in services.'

Australia and China began talks on a free trade agreement in May 2005 but discussions had stalled until April this year when Mr Rudd used a visit to Beijing to push for progress on the deal with the nation's largest trading partner.

The prime minister said the talks had moved forward since then and he was 'confident that we can get real progress in the period ahead.' -- AFP