Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday urged China to keep its judgment on whether Australia dumped barley in China separate from China’s opposition over an Australian call for an inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus. Although the regulatory proposal on the tariffs comes about two weeks after China’s ambassador to Australia said there might be economic consequences for Australia’s push for an inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made clear on Monday that the barley issue is a normal trade remedy investigation. And according to the industry group Grain Producers Australia, the proposed tariffs come after an 18-month probe. Even Morrison said he expected China to make its final judgment free from politics, adding that China had “not raised it as connected to any other issues”. Instead of trying to impute a false motive for China’s proposed action, Canberra would do better to reflect upon what it has done of late that has led to the deteriorating of Australia’s ties with China, and which has caused it such trepidation imagining reprisals from Beijing. Canberra cannot possibly deny that its recent proposal on an international inquiry into the source of COVID-19 echoed and even fueled some US politicians’ irresponsible and irrational blame game against China. Even after Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye explained why China opposed Australia’s inquiry proposal, some Australian media and politicians chose to misinterpret Cheng’s remarks and continued to fan anti-China sentiments over the so-called China’s threat of economic coercion. In recent years, because of China’s growing presence in the region, Canberra has allowed Washington to exert an undue influence on its relations with Beijing. By uncritically following Washington’s lead in trying to contain China, Canberra is demonstrating it lacks the political wisdom and farsightedness to chart the right course for Australia’s relations with China. Although it bears responsibility for poisoning the atmosphere for bilateral ties, it should rest assured that Beijing opposes politicizing trade issues and it will make an objective and impartial judgment on the barley issue as well as bilateral trade at large. The Ministry of Commerce is due to announce its decision on May 19. –CN
