China is sending a not-so-subtle threat to our allies on the far side of the world: Ask questions about the coronavirus, and suffer economic consequences.

Australia has recommended an independent inquiry into the origin and subsequent mishandling of COVID-19 and has been lobbying the World Health Organization and global leaders to do the same. In response, China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, warned on Monday that Australia’s “dangerous” demands could result in an export and travel boycott.

“Maybe the ordinary people will say, ‘Why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?’” Cheng told the Australian Financial Review. “The parents of the students would also think … whether this is the best place to send their kids.”

Cheng knows exactly what he's doing. China is the largest export market for Australian wine and beef, and it is the largest market for Australian education and tourism — two of Australia’s largest export industries, according to the Straits Times. Cheng deliberately mentioned these industries because that’s where China could hit Australia the hardest, as it did back in 2018, when diplomatic relations between the two countries had become strained.

But Australia is not backing down. “We reject any suggestion that economic coercion is an appropriate response to a call for such an honest assessment when what we need is global cooperation,” said Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne.

The global community needs to stand by Australia and support its push for an inquiry into China’s wrongdoing. China cannot be allowed to bully other countries into silence and walk away from this global pandemic unscathed. Too much has been lost, both physically and economically.

The United States should lead this global effort and condemn China’s economic threats against Australia. We should also join Australia in publicly demanding transparency from Xi Jinping’s communist regime. A coordinated global effort to hold China accountable is the best chance we have of getting answers — answers that we will need to prevent future pandemics of this magnitude. And a global rebuke is exactly what China deserves.