My Take | Will US have Australia’s back against China?
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s foolhardy China policy amounts to self-harm, as Australian businesses are now complaining that America is eating their lunch as the latter’s export to China has jumped while their own trade suffers from Chinese blockage
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other top officials have been feigning outrage at China’s economic retaliations. Given the levels of hostility shown by Morrison’s government, the country’s intelligence services and news media, you would hardly expect Beijing to take kindly to the antagonism.
The latest complaint? China is holding up 20 per cent of Australian grapes shipped at the border. This follows restrictions placed on Australian barley, cotton, wood, wine and lobsters in recent years.
As Australia’s largest trading partner which has fuelled the nation’s wealth and economic boom of the past two decades, China’s reactions have been relatively mild, considering what the Aussies have been doing.
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Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio
Last month, Canberra tore up agreements previously made between the Victorian government and China under the Belt and Road Initiative. It has also set its sights on rescinding the 99-year lease of Darwin Port by China’s Landbridge Group, on national security grounds.
