Virus Outbreak: Australia warns Beijing about economic threat

Reuters, SYDNEY





Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne has cautioned China against attempts at “economic coercion” as Canberra pushes for an investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic, a move that Beijing opposes.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye (成競業) in a newspaper interview yesterday said that the “Chinese public” could avoid Australian products and universities.

Australia last week called for all members of the WHO to support an independent review into the origins and spread of the novel coronavirus, and is lobbying world leaders.

People gather on a grassy area at Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Australia, yesterday. The Western Australian state government has relaxed the two-person limit on public gatherings, with up to 10 people now allowed to meet and people able to leave home for non-contact recreational activities, such as private picnics in the park, fishing, boating, hiking or camping. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has attacked the proposal.

“Maybe the ordinary people will say: ‘Why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?’” Cheng said in the interview published on the front page of the Australian Financial Review.

Cheng said it was possible that tourists might have “second thoughts” about visiting Australia.

“The parents of the students would also think ... whether this is the best place to send their kids,” he said.

After energy exports, education and tourism are Australia’s biggest export industries, with China the largest market.

Payne said in a statement that Australia had made a “principled call” for an independent review of the COVID-19 outbreak, which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“We reject any suggestion that economic coercion is an appropriate response to a call for such an assessment, when what we need is global cooperation,” Payne said.

China is the largest export market for Australian wine and beef. During strained diplomatic relations with China in 2018, Australian wine faced import delays in China and some Australian beef exports were also suspended.

The Chinese embassy in Australia has previously warned Chinese students about what it said were safety risks in traveling to Australia.

Payne said an “honest assessment” of the pandemic would seek to strengthen the WHO’s role.