The " Trade " Conundrum !

The last two Australian journalists in China have quit that country to avoid arrest on " National Security " grounds.  They sheltered in our diplomatic mission for several days before boarding a plane back to Australia and their removal has imposed a virtual news blackout on events in that country.

The threatened journalists worked for two of Australia's most distinguished news sources, the ABC and the Financial Review.  The Chinese Communist government is adamant that its people will hear and read only the version of world news that conforms with their outlook on the world. Topics that offend are censored and access to the internet is tightly controlled.

Australian trade has been facing restrictions since we demanded an investigation into how and where that coronavirus emerged in China's Wuhan district.  The Chinese were slow to reveal the outbreak and take measures to contain it.  It is thought it made the leap to contaminating humans in a market where bush meat is butchered for human consumption.  China's sensitivity is now denying it had anything to do with the emergence of the coronavirus and it is angrily rejecting any suggestion that an investigation is necessary.

It is noticeable that the trade restrictions China has imposed steer well clear of the base materials that they need to fuel their industry.  The import of our coal and iron ore is unchallenged and they are creating reasons to reject barley and Australian wines on spurious grounds.  This is clearly a " punishment " for continuing to press for that virus investigation.

Our trading links are beneficial to both countries and China clearly sees the wisdom of having its young people exposed to education in the west to broaden their minds.  The money this injects into our universities helps contain the cost for Australian university students.  China is threatening to reduce the numbers studying here as part of its ill will against Australia.

This Chinese reaction against our economic interests invites retaliation.  Chinese journalists in Australia have been interviewed by ASIO  and the visas of two Chinese academics were cancelled.  Clearly, this was a tit for tat measure in response to two of our journalists  being kicked out of China.  Where the relationship between the two countries goes from there depends on the next moves.

A trade war with China would be to our disadvantage.  The advent of " globalization " saw many manufacturing jobs in Australia go to China and that country is now the source of most of our imports.  At the same time, China is clearly interfering in our internal affairs and stealing trade secrets.  Beijing has agents here which constitute a massive spy network and much of the hacking into our industrial base originates from Beijing.

India - with a population similar to China - is fast emerging as a new manufacturing super power. One of the advantages is that it is closer to Australia and trade does not have to cross the Chinese claim to the South China sea.  We would be wise to cultivate trade relations with this emerging super power to replace the trade loss that will eventuate if relations with China continue to sour.

China has a tendency to try and bully other nations by way of its industrial clout.  We would be wise to stand firm against this form of Chinese aggression even if it slows our recovery from the coronavirus. We are a food producing country in a world rapidly facing a food shortage  !