Australia’s Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said in an interview on November 29 that China’s move was politically motivated and reiterated that Australia’s sovereignty would not be compromised by China’s economic coercion.
In an interview with Sky News Australia on Sunday, Littleproud explained how the Australian government will respond to China’s sanctions against Australian products. In the interview, he echoed a statement made publicly by Australia’s Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on September 27, reiterating that Australia will not allow its sovereignty to be undermined by China’s economic coercion.
At the beginning of the program, host Kieran Gilbert, referring to Birmingham’s public statement, said that China “really gives the impression that it is doing this in response to some other factors (other than trade)”. He then asked Mr. Li Tepruder to elaborate on the Australian government’s position on the issue of Australia’s experience with Chinese economic coercion. In response, Mr. Li Tepruder replied that when China imposes sanctions on Australian barley, timber, wine and many other products, the Chinese authorities will make some statements; and the content of the statements often touches on the actions of Australia as a sovereign country.
The English edition of the Global Times, China’s official media, published an article titled “Anti-Australian wine dumping is not a ‘trade war’, but a way to teach Canberra authorities to ‘grow up’ or suffer pain” on 27 March. The newspaper said the Australian government should “grow up” and “reflect on the wrong moves that have damaged relations between the two countries” in the face of Chinese sanctions against Australian wine. The newspaper said that the Australian government should “grow up” and “reflect on the wrong moves that have harmed relations between the two countries” in the face of China’s sanctions against Australian wine. The article again accused Australia of being a “pawn” of the U.S. and said that Australia has provoked China’s “core interests” on the issues of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr. Li Tepruder said that official Chinese practices and statements “would obviously give the natural impression that China’s measures against our (Australian) products are not because of any trade factor, but more because they (China) are unhappy with some of the actions that we (Australia) are doing as a sovereign nation. In the face of Beijing’s politically motivated trade sanctions, Mr. Littleprud emphasized that Australia “is a country that is focused on following trade rules”. He said Australia expects its trading partners to be equally committed to trade agreements between the two countries, as well as to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
During the interview, Gilbert mentioned that Australia had just signed up to the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and asked Mr. Lietepruder, “If it doesn’t protect (Australian) wine exporters from similar treatment, what good is it?” In response, Mr. Littleprud explained that the agreement sets out a number of trade procedures that each signatory country must follow. He also pointed out that if any country fails to comply with international trade norms, the Australian government will take the case to the independent arbitration mechanism attached to the WTO. Mr. Littleprud reiterated that the Australian Government believes that “dialogue is the best way to resolve the current dispute”. He continued to point out that, in the face of trade issues, the Australian government “will not compromise on sovereignty issues”, and “Australia makes its own decisions based on its own sovereignty”.
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