News: BHP UPDATE 1-China's vice commerce minister met with Australian trade official in Beijing...

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BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - China's vice commerce minister met Australia's deputy secretary general for the department for foreign affairs and trade on Monday in Beijing, according to a statement from China's commerce ministry.

Wang Shouwen, who is also China's international trade negotiator, said that the two economies are highly complimentary and "have great potential for economic and trade cooperation," according to the statement.

He also expressed concern over increased scrutiny towards the operations of Chinese enterprises in Australia, calling on Canberra "to provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises."

The meeting continues an apparent thawing in trade relations between the two countries, which saw China lift restrictions on Australian coal exports in early January, although they continue to feud over Australian exports of wine, beef, barley, seafood, and timber.

China's foreign ministry released a separate statement on Tuesday about a meeting between the CEO of Australian mining giant BHP, Mike Henry, and China's vice foreign minister Xie Feng on March 27th, during which it expressed hope that BHP could contribute more to the improvement of China-Australia relations, particularly in new areas such as climate change and new energy.