Iron ore price tops $200 amid further deterioration of China-Australia relations
Worker repair mechanical parts in the production workshop in Tangshan city, Hebei Province, China (Stock Image)
Iron ore prices jumped to a fresh high on Thursday after China “indefinitely” suspended all activity under a China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, in the latest setback to the strained relations between Beijing and Canberra.
Benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China (CFR Qingdao) hit a new high on Thursday, changing hands for $201.88 a tonne, up 4.85% from the previous day, according to Fastmarkets MB. The high-grade Brazilian index (65% Fe fines) also advanced to a record high of $234.70 a tonne.
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BEIJING/SYDNEY (Reuters) -China “indefinitely” suspended on Thursday all activity under a China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, its state economic planner said, the latest setback for strained relations between the two countries.
FILE PHOTO: Australian flag flutters in front of the Great Hall of the People during a welcoming ceremony for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (not in picture) in Beijing, China, April 14, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee
“Recently, some Australian Commonwealth Government officials launched a series of measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia out of Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination,” China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a short statement on the decision.
China suspends economic dialogue with Australia Friday, May 7, 2021 IWK Bureau
China s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday that it would suspend all activities under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue framework set up in 2014, while accusing Canberra of a Cold War mindset .
The move comes shortly after the Australian government scrapped two Belt and Road Initiative agreements with China, reports dpa news agency.
In a statement, the NDRC said its decision was based on the current attitude of the Australian government. Recently, some Australian Commonwealth Government officials launched a series of measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia out of Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination, the statement said.
“Based on the current attitude of the Australian Commonwealth Government toward China-Australia cooperation, the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China decides to indefinitely suspend all activities under the framework of the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue,” it said in a statement. As treasurer, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the last minister’s to travel to Beijing under the dialogue in 2017. He met with large Chinese investors and Chairman He Lifeng of China’s National Development and Reform Commission to discuss “opportunities for Australian and Chinese businesses to cooperate.” The relationship has deteriorated sharply since then, driven initially by Australia’s decision to ban Huawei from the 5G network in 2018 and introduce foreign interference laws, and furthered last year over disputes concerning the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and national security.
Wood Mackenzie s Yanting Zhou believes the political dispute will âdiscourageâ Chinese investment in Australiaâs natural resource sectors â an area that makes up a large chunk of the nationâs economy
The SED has been used to encourage investment and ease trade talks between the countryâs since it was formed in 2014 (Credit: Shutterstock/Aritra Deb)
China has announced the âindefinite suspensionâ of all activities under its Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) with Australia â but what could this action mean for the energy industry?
The announcement comes as no surprise to many, as relations have been strained between the nations after Canberra last year called for an inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.