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China Warns Australia It Could Face Boycotts Over Call for an Independent Inquiry Into CoronavirusChina has accused Australia of parroting the United States in its call for an inquiry independent of the World Health Organization to determine the origins of COVID-19 and how the world responded to the emerging pandemic.Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye used an Australian newspaper interview this week to warn that pursuing an inquiry could spark a Chinese consumer boycott of students and tourists visiting Australia as well as of sales of major exports including beef and wine.When senior Australian diplomat Frances Adamson raised concerns about the interview, Cheng took the extraordinary step of making public his account of their telephone conversation. Cheng said he told Adamson to “put aside ideological bias” and “stop political games.”U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attacked China’s coercion and urged U.S. partner countries to also demand transparency and answers.
Of beef and barley: Why China and Australia are feuding—and what it means for the U.S. trade warMay 19, 2020 7:21 PM GMT+8China dealt a blow to Australian farmers when it confirmed it will place an 80.5% tariff on Australian barley imports starting Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday.The tariffs escalate already-high tensions between China and Australia that began in April when Australia called for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan, China.Both sides argue publicly that the trade spat is just that: a lingering disagreement about barley prices that stretches back to 2018. That rhetoric reflects the traditional nature of Beijing-Canberra relations, which have long separated trade from politics. But now, as Australia casts a global spotlight on China for its role in the coronavirus pandemic, there’s unmistakable spillover between the two.< snipped >A two-track relationshipAustralia and China have a strong bilateral trading relationship. China is Australia’s biggest trading partner; around a quarter of Australia’s total imports come from China, and more than a third of all its exports go there. Australia, meanwhile, ranks 13th in China’s export destinations, and sixth among its import sources.
