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| Bristling at calls for coronavirus inquiry, China cuts Australian beef imports | Bristling at calls for coronavirus inquiry, China cuts Australian beef imports |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| China has suspended a significant portion of beef imports from Australia and hinted at the imminent introduction of steep agricultural tariffs, raising pressure on the Australian government just days before it is set to formally propose an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. | China has suspended a significant portion of beef imports from Australia and hinted at the imminent introduction of steep agricultural tariffs, raising pressure on the Australian government just days before it is set to formally propose an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. |
| China appears to be following through on a warning conveyed in April by its ambassador, Cheng Jingye, who said China could stop purchasing key Australian agricultural products if Canberra moved ahead with an inquiry proposal that has become highly sensitive for the Chinese government. | |
| Australian officials are planning to submit the proposal at the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, this month. The United States and Britain have backed Australia’s move, which could include dispatching international inspectors to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Chinese officials and state media have previously rejected the idea, calling it an “old trick” orchestrated by the Trump administration to pin blame for the pandemic on China and distract from its domestic failures. | Australian officials are planning to submit the proposal at the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, this month. The United States and Britain have backed Australia’s move, which could include dispatching international inspectors to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Chinese officials and state media have previously rejected the idea, calling it an “old trick” orchestrated by the Trump administration to pin blame for the pandemic on China and distract from its domestic failures. |
| China’s Foreign Ministry has recently softened its stance and said Friday it would be open to a joint international review under certain conditions. The effort should take place under the auspices of WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, and only at an “appropriate time” after the global pandemic is over. | China’s Foreign Ministry has recently softened its stance and said Friday it would be open to a joint international review under certain conditions. The effort should take place under the auspices of WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, and only at an “appropriate time” after the global pandemic is over. |
| The Chinese ambassador’s threats of a boycott last month sparked an uproar in Australia that only grew this week as Beijing appeared to follow through, underlining its willingness to use its economic might as political leverage. China has previously linked trade with political issues, punishing South Korea over its installation of a U.S. missile-defense system and Norway over a decision by a Nobel committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo. | |
| After six new cases, Wuhan plans to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus | After six new cases, Wuhan plans to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus |
| Australian officials said they were notified that four major slaughterhouses were decertified on Monday night, a day after Australian agriculture lobbies conveyed a warning that China was weighing a new round of 80 percent tariffs on barley “within 10 days” as part of an anti-dumping investigation. | Australian officials said they were notified that four major slaughterhouses were decertified on Monday night, a day after Australian agriculture lobbies conveyed a warning that China was weighing a new round of 80 percent tariffs on barley “within 10 days” as part of an anti-dumping investigation. |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. |
| Chinese authorities cited improper labeling and health concerns when they enacted the beef ban, according to Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. He said thousands of Australian factory workers and farmers could be affected by the suspension, which covers Australia’s largest beef plant in Dinmore, Queensland state. | |
| Birmingham said Tuesday that Australia would treat the agricultural trade matters as independent from the dispute over the covid-19 inquiry and “expects that other governments would do likewise.” | Birmingham said Tuesday that Australia would treat the agricultural trade matters as independent from the dispute over the covid-19 inquiry and “expects that other governments would do likewise.” |
| At a daily briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian did not directly answer a question about whether the beef ban was linked to the inquiry proposal. He told reporters that the move was made out of concern for the health and safety of Chinese consumers, adding that any attempts to use the virus as a “political maneuver” would hurt global public health cooperation. | |
| China’s relations with Australia should be founded on mutual respect and equality, Zhao said. “We hope the relevant parties will do more to enhance mutual trust instead of talking one thing while doing the other,” he said. | |
| Australian political analysts widely saw the Chinese agricultural freezes as directly linked to Cheng’s warnings weeks earlier, even though Canberra has treated the matter with ambiguity and not directly pointed fingers at Beijing. | |
| China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades | China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades |
| “If you threaten to shoot someone, no one will believe when you stand over his body a week later and claim he accidentally fell on a bullet — of course it’s linked,” said Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. “But both sides left an off-ramp. They’ll have to talk their way out of this.” | “If you threaten to shoot someone, no one will believe when you stand over his body a week later and claim he accidentally fell on a bullet — of course it’s linked,” said Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. “But both sides left an off-ramp. They’ll have to talk their way out of this.” |
| Others downplayed the immediate possibility of the spat mushrooming into a full-blown trade war. Although the moves this week targeted a politically vocal agricultural constituency in Australia and could affect up to $2 billion in exports, China has not raised the possibility of boycotting large, strategic products and industries that would signal a severe conflict. | Others downplayed the immediate possibility of the spat mushrooming into a full-blown trade war. Although the moves this week targeted a politically vocal agricultural constituency in Australia and could affect up to $2 billion in exports, China has not raised the possibility of boycotting large, strategic products and industries that would signal a severe conflict. |
| “It’s more bluster than reality,” said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and former high-ranking defense official. “They’re certainly not hinting that they will do anything with coal and iron ore. They need our products.” | “It’s more bluster than reality,” said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and former high-ranking defense official. “They’re certainly not hinting that they will do anything with coal and iron ore. They need our products.” |
| Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood by his calls for an investigation amid the furor over how Australia, a U.S. ally, should respond to China. Although some influential business executives have urged him to delay the inquiry or avoid provoking Beijing, the Australian Parliament and press have largely rallied around Morrison in defiance of the Chinese warnings. | |
| Morrison said again on Friday that he would push forward with the inquiry proposal but would seek coordination with a number of other countries rather than a unilateral or U.S.-led approach. “We can’t let the trail go cold,” he said. | Morrison said again on Friday that he would push forward with the inquiry proposal but would seek coordination with a number of other countries rather than a unilateral or U.S.-led approach. “We can’t let the trail go cold,” he said. |
| James Laurenceson, acting director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, said growing warnings in Australia about the danger of Chinese “economic coercion” were exaggerated by the country’s China hawks. | |
| As relations have become strained in the past three years over a dispute surrounding Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications equipment company, and political meddling, the Chinese government has signaled that it would punish Australia by introducing hurdles to beef or wine imports or limiting tourist visits. But trade figures show that Beijing has rarely followed through, Laurenceson said. | |
| “If it were to send a message to Australia, fair enough,” he said. “But when you look back on the trade data a few months later, the impact is hardly discernible.” | “If it were to send a message to Australia, fair enough,” he said. “But when you look back on the trade data a few months later, the impact is hardly discernible.” |
| Australia’s coronavirus disputes with China are growing. So are debates over its deep economic ties to Beijing. | Australia’s coronavirus disputes with China are growing. So are debates over its deep economic ties to Beijing. |
| China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades | China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades |
| China’s bid to repair its coronavirus-hit image is backfiring in the West | China’s bid to repair its coronavirus-hit image is backfiring in the West |
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