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Australia won’t be intimidated by China’s ‘coercion’, prime minister says
- China has in recent weeks banned Australian beef imports and imposed tariffs on Australian barley, as well as issuing warnings about racist attacks
- PM Scott Morrison rubbished the warnings and said he would never trade his country’s values in response to coercion ‘from wherever it comes’
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he would not be intimidated or give into coercion when asked on Thursday whether Australia would keep taking hits on exports from major trading partner China.
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Diplomatic tensions between China and Australia have worsened after Canberra called for an international inquiry into the source and spread of the coronavirus, angering Beijing.
The World Health Assembly last month voted to support an independent review into the pandemic after Australia and the European Union led lobbying.
On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Education said students should reconsider choosing to study in Australia, threatening Australia’s fourth-largest export industry, international education, worth A$38 billion (US$26 billion) annually.
I’m never going to trade our values in response to coercion from wherever it comes
“We are an open-trading nation, mate, but I’m never going to trade our values in response to coercion from wherever it comes,” Morrison told radio station 2GB on Thursday.
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China has in recent weeks banned Australian beef imports and imposed tariffs on Australian barley.
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