Australia–China trade war

Add languages
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia-China trade war

Part of Australia-China relations

Date 2017/18-present

Location Australia, China, Taiwan

Caused by Anti-communism, Australia-Taiwan relations, censorship in

China, COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong national security
law, human rights issues, potential Second Cold War, trade
sanctions, Uyghur genocide

Methods Trade war

Parties to the civil conflict

 Australia  China

Lead figures

 Australia Malcolm Turnbull
 Australia Scott Morrison
 Australia Anthony Albanese

 China Xi Jinping
 China Li Keqiang

The Australia–China trade war is an ongoing trade war between Australia and

China.
The exact date of when the trade war began is debated, however it is
understood it began in either 2017 or 2018.[1]

Sanctions[edit]
In 2020, China gradually imposed several trade sanctions on Australia. A wide
range of Australian products were sanctioned, including barley, beef, cotton,
lamb, lobsters, timber and wine.[2][3]

Triggers[edit]
2020[edit]
In early 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison endorsed an inquiry into the origins
of COVID-19, which angered China.[4] Following this, China started posing
import tariffs on some Australian exports. According to analysts, these
sanctions were a retaliation for the endorsement. Australia had also
imposed anti-dumping tariffs on some Chinese exports.[5]
Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, tweeted a doctored photo of
an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the throat of an Afghan child who
is holding a lamb, in response to allegations of war crimes committed by
Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. Australia urged China to apologise and for
the tweet to be taken down.[6]
2021[edit]
China continued to further sanction Australia in 2021. [7] Another major trigger
was the AUKUS agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the
United States. In December, Australia joined the US-led diplomatic boycott of
the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which were held in February 2022, due to
human rights abuses in China.[8]
2022[edit]
On 23 May 2022, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) was formed by
US President Joe Biden. The new alliance has 14 members; 13 founding
members (Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand,
the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) and one later
entry (Fiji). It is believed that the alliance was formed in response to the security
deal between China and the Solomon Islands, which was signed earlier that
year. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi heavily criticised the new alliance.
[9]
 Leading up to the 2022 Australian federal election, China was accused of
interfering with the election and with the goal of the Australian Labor
Party winning the election and defeating the Liberal-National Coalition.[10][11]