China is ‘punishing nations’ for disagreeing with it

The Australian’s Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says despite what the Coalition says in public, bureaucrats and the government MPs know China’s recent “brutal rhetoric” about Australia is based “purely for political purposes”.

On Monday, China threatened tariffs up to 80 per cent on Australian grain if the federal government does not respond to allegations of “barley dumping” in 10 days, in an escalation of trade tensions between the two sovereign nations.

On Tuesday, Beijing reportedly delisted four Australian abattoirs, including three in Queensland and one in New South Wales – accounting for about 35 per cent of beef exports to China.

The trade tensions come in the wake of Australia leading the charge for an international, independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

“I think all the government ministers saying this is unrelated to the calls for a COVID-19 inquiry are telling fibs, but they are necessary and proper fibs for a government to tell,” Mr Sheridan said.

He argued it was “inherently ludicrous” for a socialist state like China where there is “no such thing as free trade” to accuse Australia’s agriculture sector of dumping.

“Beijing is very aggressive at the moment and is deciding to punish nations that disagree with it,” he said.

“This is a very paranoid aggressive moment that China is passing through.”