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Australia’s biggest exporting state on Tuesday urged Canberra to stop antagonizing China, the country’s top trade partner.
“This isn’t about kowtowing to other countries and giving in,” Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said at Australia’s biggest oil and gas industry conference, being held in Perth.
“There needs to be a national reset in that relationship.”
Western Australia is the largest iron ore producer in the world.
Ties with China worsened last year when Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, which sparked trade reprisals from China, hitting Australian goods ranging from barley and coal to lobster and wine.
Relations had already soured after Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from the country’s 5G network in 2018.
A Chinese economic planning agency said last month it was looking to diversify China’s supply of iron ore.
“While an outright ban would be almost unimaginable, various forms of restrictions, delays or increased administrative burdens on Australian iron ore imports could yet happen,” Wood Mackenzie said in a recent note.
Benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China (CFR Qingdao) were up 0.45% on Tuesday, changing hands for $221.87 a tonne, according to Fastmarkets MB.
(With files from Bloomberg and Reuters)
2 Comments
Gabriel
Is Australia going to die without China? Because of a few greedy investors your country will bend its knees and vow before the dragon paper. Have a little shame and pride and stop whinning like cry babies just deprive of there lollypops. Remember that China’s arrogant rampant bullying of its neighbors have already back-fired. Theyre experiencing blockouts due to severely depleted coal stock pile. Australia was already a powerful country even before China became an economic powerhouse.
Why dont your government try building trains, do some heavy infrastucture building in your country for the benefit of your people like what China is doing. Try making your dessert into a tropical paradise. Plant them for self sustainance. Building more houses, buildings. Spend on public buildings and rent them out for small and medium enterprise like budding restaurators in Singapore were everyone can have cheap eats for lunch and dinner. Build some iconic public markets like those in Morocco or Turkey. Dont tell me your country is far inferior than the Philippines. That would be hilarious; laughing stock of the whole world. The small countries like the Philippines, and specially Vietnam survive without China. You can too.
Chan Chong sun
I agree with your thoughts. How about Australia organising an invasion force to teach the paper Dragon a lesson the paper dragon would never forget? After all we have big brother US and the world biggest democracy India and the world best karate fighter Japan behind us. Worth a try. After all we are dealing with a paper Dragon.