https://www.afr.com/world/europe/australia-piles-into-china-in-fiery-wto-session-20211021-p591s7 Hans van Leeuwen Europe correspondent Oct 21, 2021 London | Australia has upped the ante in its diplomatic standoff with China, launching a tirade against Beijing’s trade policies at the normally sedate World Trade Organisation in Geneva. Canberra’s ambassador to the WTO, George Mina, told a hearing on China’s trade policy that the Beijing’s “trade disruptive measures” against Australia were “motivated by political considerations” and “undermined the multilateral trading system”. The Australian government’s statement said China had stalled on economic reform, was insufficiently transparent, and had “increasingly tested global trade rules and norms by engaging in practices that are inconsistent with its WTO commitments”. Barley is loaded onto a ship in Albany ... but not for China. Nic Duncan The hearing late on Wednesday (AEDT) was a routine consideration of China’s “trade policy review”, a relatively anodyne self-scrutiny exercise that all WTO members undertake every three or four years. It began with a self-congratulatory statement from Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who said his country had used its 20 years as a WTO member to “open up its economy and deepen reform, while defending the importance of the multilateral trading system”. Mr Wang also highlighted China’s cooperation with developing countries, a group from which Beijing commonly seeks to draw support in international forums. Much to US, European and Australian chagrin, China is still formally classed as a developing country at the WTO, giving it access to special advantages and concessions. The WTO review itself was also relatively uncritical, praising Beijing’s WTO activism, thought it did lament a lack of up-to-date data from China, particularly on state subsidies to industry. Punchy intervention But Australia, speaking second after Vietnam, made a punchy intervention that set the tone for much of what followed. Mr Mina highlighted the extent to which China’s trade salvos had hit Australia: tariffs, red tape and obstructionism have affected barley, coal, copper, cotton, hay, lumber, rock lobsters, sugar, wine, dairy, beef and fruit. “Several official Chinese statements have directly linked these trade actions to wider issues in our bilateral relationship,” Mr Mina said. “WTO rules do not permit a member, however large, to impose conditions such as these on trade with another member.” Mr Mina said Beijing’s actions rippled beyond its trade with Australia, as “they raise the risk and uncertainty of the China market for the global business community”. “By undermining agreed trade rules, China also undermines the multilateral trading system on which all WTO members rely. ... China has assured members of its commitment to the rules-based order, but from our viewpoint there is a growing gap between China’s rhetoric and its actions.” The United States’ WTO ambassador rowed in strongly behind Australia, accusing China of “economic coercion” - not a new phrase, but one seldom - if ever - lobbed within the WTO. According to Geneva trade officials, the US envoy said China had “used the imprimatur of WTO membership to become the WTO’s largest trader, while doubling down on its state-led, non-market approach to trade - to the detriment of workers and businesses in the United States and other countries”. Britain accused China of a “lack of reciprocity” in its trading relations, and the European Union said China’s state subsidies were creating “competitive distortions worldwide, leading to systemic problems for global trade”. The EU’s ambassador echoed the US in complaining of “economic pressure on companies’ operations that seem motivated by political considerations”. Even India joined the attack, reeling off a range of trade restrictions that were hurting its exporters and domestic producers. The barbs may sting in Beijing, as the WTO is a key focus of China’s attempts to portray itself as a responsible global citizen, a champion of poorer countries, and an upholder of multilateral organisations. Because former US President Donald Trump was a relentless critic of the WTO and sought to undermine it, China was able to make some headway in this effort. So the united and vociferous front it faced on Wednesday could represent a significant setback.
who gives a s*, until Morrison is gone, fat chance for auz exports, and zero chance to get back to Rudd's era.
Well people are just waking up now to China demanding free trade on its exports and yet imposing 50% tariffs on its imports? It's been doing it for the last 30 years. LOL Too little, too late. Don't know why people can't just vote with its wallet. Doesn't like China's trade policy? Don't trade with it. Simple.
Even Rudd has turned against China.... Don't take on China alone, says ex-Australia PM Kevin Rudd By Karishma Vaswani Asia business correspondent 29 May Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Countries should unite against China's growing economic and geopolitical coercion or risk being singled out and punished by Beijing, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told the BBC. Mr Rudd said governments in the West should not be afraid to challenge China on issues such as human rights. Around the world, countries are navigating a new geopolitical order framed by the rising dominance of China. "If you are going to have a disagreement with Beijing, as many governments around the world are now doing, it's far better to arrive at that position conjointly with other countries rather than unilaterally, because it makes it easier for China to exert bilateral leverage against you," Mr Rudd told the BBC's Talking Business Asia programme. His comments come as relations between Australia and China have deteriorated to their worst point in decades. The relationship has soured following a series of economic and diplomatic blows dealt by each side.
you proved my point, depends on who pays for the interview, politicians are always double talk. he is not saying the same thing on scmp or china media. if you read st louis fed data on gdp growth, aussies are the lucky one, double its gdp per capita from 20k to 51k in less than a decade, richer than most of the g7 countries, coincided with china ascension at the same time. it was primarily driven by resource demands from indian and china, then the aussies got very cocky and choosy after the chinese paid even more money for its commodities. at one point i thought half of the sydney and melbourne skyscrapers are financed by chinese money.
nixon fucked it up for usa greed; all he had to do was demand political reform in exchange for financial support. only ourselves to blame and now that junk has sailed.