MNI EXCLUSIVE: China May Target More Australian Farm Products

China is likely to impose additional restrictions on Australian agricultural products, three Chinese policy advisors told MNI, speaking after anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine became the latest expression of the frayed relations between Beijing and Canberra.

Targetting of Australian products could include informal measures such as expensive customs delays, advisors said, pointing to farm products in particular, due to the ease with which they can be sourced elsewhere.

"This is sort of in line with the previous policies toward Australia," said one of the advisors, requesting anonymity as he did not have permission to speak with the media.

Reducing Australian imports could prompt more purchases from the U.S.. China has promised to boost imports of U.S. agricultural goods under its Phase One trade deal with Washington.

"The market (for agricultural products) is fixed in size. If it doesn't come from [Australia], it must come from somewhere else," said another advisor.

IRON ORE

But Australian iron ore, vital for Chinese industry and difficult to substitute with alternative supplies, is not likely to be targeted, advisors said.

China slapped anti-dumping tariffs of up to 212% on Australian wine last week, adding to measures aimed at barley and beef. Australian coal cargos have also been kept at ports for months without any official announcement by China.

Relations between the two trading partners have deteriorated since the Australian government called for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2018, it excluded Chinese suppliers from its 5G networks due to security concerns. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman irritated Canberra this week by posting a mocked-up picture of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, after an enquiry found evidence of illegal killings by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

Australia has emphasised its military alliance with the U.S., and is paying a price for that decision, a third advisor said. The Chinese public would support further action against Australia, an advisor said, pointing to complaints by Chinese Australians who were asked by a governing party senator whether they condemned the Chinese Communist Party when they appeared at a government hearing in October.