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International Minister Penny Wong says Australia will droop WTO criticism after China agreed to evaluate tariffs.
Australia mentioned Tuesday it was inching nearer to “stabilising” its fraught relationship with China, as the 2 international locations moved to unravel a festering commerce dispute over barley exports.
The once-cosy buying and selling relationship has soured lately as Australia sought nearer army ties with the US and China vied for affect within the Pacific.
Beijing slapped hefty tariffs on key commodities corresponding to barley, beef and wine in 2020 on the top of a bitter dispute infected by Australia’s former conservative authorities.
Australia retaliated by complaining to the World Commerce Group, alleging China had breached worldwide obligations by artificially jacking up tariffs “with out justification”.
However the nation’s centre-left authorities has adopted a far much less confrontational stance since its election in Could final yr, prioritising the resumption of commerce.
Within the newest signal of thawing tensions between the international locations, International Minister Penny Wong mentioned Australia could be quickly suspending its criticism after China had agreed to evaluate its barley tariffs.
“We have now made it clear that we consider there’s no justification for the measures that China launched in relation to barley,” she informed reporters.
“We have now additionally made clear that we consider it’s in each international locations’ pursuits for these commerce impediments to be eliminated.”
Wong, who visited Beijing in December, mentioned this demonstrated that Australia was slowly “stabilising the connection with China”.
The tariffs, in addition to an unofficial ban on Australian coal, are estimated to have value greater than 5 billion Australian {dollars} ($3.47bn) in misplaced income from China.
In the meantime, Beijing has confirmed that Vice Minister for International Affairs Ma Zhaoxu will journey to Australia later this week, making him one of the vital senior officers to go to in years.
Australia faces a tough balancing act – China is its largest buying and selling associate, however the US is a vital army ally.
Canberra angered Beijing in March by saying it will purchase nuclear-powered submarines from the US as a part of an bold plan to bulk up Western muscle within the Asia-Pacific.
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