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Sino-Australian Relations and the Bumpy Road to the G7 Summit
Publication: China Brief Volume: 21 Issue: 10
May 21, 2021 01:07 PM
Age: 11 hours
Image: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met in Bangkok, Thailand ahead of the East Asian Summit in November 2019. Diplomatic relations, already tense over Australian concerns of Chinese influence in domestic politics and China’s defensiveness in response to Australia’s outspoken criticisms of Chinese human rights abuses, took a significant downturn in 2020. (Source: ABC).
Introduction
The Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei (成蕾) was formally arrested by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in early February after having been detained for six months in Beijing. Her arrest was confirmed by the PRC on February 8, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) stating that Cheng would face criminal charges for “illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces
China Escalates Trade War With Australian Coal Ban, Despite Shortages
Posted by John Chan | Dec 17, 2020
China has officially banned the importation of Australian coal, striking at the heart of the country’s energy sector. The decision, announced on Monday, escalates the Australia-China trade war that began after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in March. Significantly, the decision comes even as China faces its own shortage of coal this winter, which has prompted nation-wide energy saving initiatives. The Sydney Morning Herald’s
The decision, taken by China’s National Development and Reform Commission at a meeting with 10 Chinese power plants on Saturday and reported by state media on Monday, means Australian coal will be blocked indefinitely while China ramps up imports from Mongolia, Indonesia and Russia, and expands local production.