(Bloomberg) -- Sinosteel Corp. says deteriorating China-Australia relations and the Australian government’s approach to foreign ownership is frightening off Chinese investment in the country.

“For Chinese investors, because the bilateral relationship in the past few years was not as good as before, there’s a big concern,” Sinosteel Australia Pty Ltd. Managing Director David Sun said in a presentation at a conference in Sydney on Wednesday. 

Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, which has the power to block foreign investment, was disproportionately rejecting Chinese investors, he said.

“When FIRB rejects one case, they scare many cases,” Sun said. Chinese investment in Australia was about a third what it was in 2020. he added.

Still, Sun was “very optimistic” for the future because of “the complementary economy between our two countries.” “I’m still very confident investment will be more and more,” he said. 

Sinosteel Australia is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned steelmaker Sinosteel. It is part of a joint venture with Rio Tinto Plc at the Channar iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and is in talks to form a joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group. 

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