Palmer said China was crucial to the future prosperity and economic recovery of Australia and criticised Prime Minister Julia Gillard for taking “far too long” to finalise a bilateral agreement.

FTA negotiations have been going on for years, with the government asking miners for submissions back in 2004 before formally starting talks in 2005.

“Part of the problem with the Australian economy is that there has not been enough foresight from our leaders to act on the opportunity,” Palmer said.

“The American government has acted and completed an FTA, which has benefited them greatly.

“The Chinese government has shown great leadership and as a result has become a world economic powerhouse.

“Now is the time and the moment to seize this opportunity.”

Palmer said Australia was ideally placed to take advantage of China’s emergence as a global powerhouse.

“The Chinese have a great ability to value-add upstream as a result of their technical capabilities and then export finished products to other global markets,” he said.

“Australia’s resources and China's ability to value-add would mean stronger economic prosperity for both countries.”

An 18th round of negotiations was held in Canberra in March last year.