Trade tensions between China and Australia continued to escalate. Four Australian red meat abattoirs were banned from importing to China. It comes just days after China warned of the plan to impose 80% tariffs on Australian barley. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham tried to tone down the suspension as just some “technical issues”. He added, “there are many other meat processing facilities that will continue under their approved permits to send product to China as they do, indeed, around the rest of the world.”
But some analysts believed China’s moves are retaliations to Australian government’s push for independent inquiry on coronavirus pandemic that started in Wuhan. Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng warned last month that Chinese public may boycott Australia products for the push for coronavirus inquiry. In an Australian Financial Review in April, Cheng said, “maybe also the ordinary people will say why should we drink Australian wine or to eat Australian beef?”.
