China-Australia relations are strained and China has imposed tariffs and bans on a range of Australian exports such as wine. According to Australian media reports on Saturday (30), Chinese ministers have recently refused to take phone calls or reply to emails from a number of Australian officials, making it impossible for the Australian side to open a dialogue on trade issues.
In addition, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently stressed that he would not meet with Chinese leaders in the event that China demands concessions from Australia.
According to “New.com.au,” Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan, who took office just last December, confirmed that he had written to China’s new Commerce Minister Wang Wentao after taking office to seek to ease tensions, although Tehan has not received a reply as of yet. However, as of now, Tehan has not received a reply, while several federal officials have also called the Chinese minister, but have not received a call back.
On the other hand, Morrison recently said he was willing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to save the relationship, describing it as crucial, but he would refuse to meet with the Chinese leader if the Chinese side demanded concessions from the Australian side. He later reiterated that he did not think any Australians would want their prime minister to go against their wishes.
Relations between China and Australia have deteriorated sharply since early last year, when Australian authorities urged an independent investigation into the source of the new crown pneumonia outbreak, and the opposition Labor Party had accused the government of leading the charge against China without adequate international support. Morrison, however, stressed that relations between the two countries had deteriorated for years and could not be attributed to any single development.
In addition, New Zealand and China recently reached a new trade agreement after eight years of negotiations. China’s Global Times described the agreement as a “warning” to Australia and argued that New Zealand would later have an advantage over Australia in the Chinese market.
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