Australia could be left without high-level representation at the G20 Trade Ministers' meeting in Shanghai this weekend because of the uncertain outcome of the election.
The meeting is due to be held this Saturday and Sunday and a decision on who is attending would need to be made by very early Friday, at the latest, to allow for travel to China. 
Asked whether current Trade Minister Steve Ciobo will be travelling to China for the meeting, a spokesman said "we will have to wait and see the outcome of the election". "I just don't know. Sorry," the spokesman said.
The anticipated lack of an Australian minister in Shanghai comes at time of heightened tension between China and the rest of the world, over Beijing's surging exports of low-cost steel.
One source indicated while steel was not on the official G20 agenda it would be the main issue discussed on the sidelines of the Shanghai meeting.
The absence of an Australian minister is likely to lesson Canberra's voice on this subject and also make it difficult to arrange bi-lateral meetings with other G20 members.
While Australian iron ore producers have benefited from China's over-production of steel through higher export volumes, it was a major factor in the collapse of South Australian steel producer Arrium.
In a press conference ahead of the G20 trade ministers' meeting in Shanghai this weekend and the G20 leaders' meeting in Hangzhou in early   September, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said: "Trade and investment protectionism is rearing its head, and the building of an open economy remains a long and daunting task."
Last month, China accused the US of protectionism after Washington approved plans to hit Chinese steelmakers with tariffs of more than 500 per cent. China's Ministry of Commerce said it was "deeply concerned" about trade practices in the US steel sector, claiming that by the end of   April the US had imposed as many as 161 protective tariffs on Chinese steel products.
Arrium was put into administration in   April, and both the state Labor government and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have pledged public money to keep the plant going.
Beijing insists China, which makes more than half the world's steel, is pushing ahead with plans to cut annual production by 100 million to 150 million tonnes over the next five years.