Australia s new trade minister said his Chinese counterpart will not speak to him
Dan Tehan wrote to Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao a month ago
But the Communist Party member has not bothered to respond to the letter
Beijing has hit Australia with litany of arbitrary tariffs and unofficial export bans
The authoritarian state is furious with Australia over an ongoing diplomatic spat
The events might come from a Hollywood script. School bully (China), annoyed over being left out of games (lucrative overseas contracts) and about comments passed in the schoolyard, decides to make an example of the weedy kid in the corner (Australia) in front of the other schoolkids.
But after flailing the weedy kid with trade restrictions the gigantic bully unexpectedly reels back with a bloody nose.
Meanwhile, the other kids in the schoolyard (the rest of the world) who have previously paid little attention to the weedy kid as a remote, uninteresting teacher’s pet with few internal problems, express quiet sympathy for Australia.
Bega Cheese Completes $534 Million Deal Bringing Iconic Brands Back to Australia
Bega Cheese paid $534 million (US$413 million) for the company from Japanese beverages giant Kirin Holdings.
Bega’s Executive Chairman Barry Irvin confirmed the news in an investor update (pdf) on Monday.
“Today is a significant day in the history of Bega, the acquisition of Lion Dairy & Drinks doubles the size of the company with revenue of $3 billion and brings together great brands including Bega Cheese, Vegemite, Dare, Farmers Union, Dairy Farmers, Yoplait, B honey, Big M, Masters, Juice Brothers and Berri,” Irvin said.
“This goal of creating a great Australian food company with the capacity to service our customers in Australia and around the world took a major step forward today,” he said.
Chinese state media has reported that Australian and Chilean cherry packaging had traces of Covid-19 on it and were sold in the Jiangsu province, near Shanghai.
While the state media said it wasn t clear what the source country was, it was likely either Australia or Chile and anything contaminated has been destroyed.
This follows China blaming a drop in export figures for cherries on the inferior quality of Australian cherries.
Chinese state media has reported that Australian and Chilean cherry packaging had traces of COVID-19 and were sold in the Jiangsu province, near Shanghai. Pictured: Tasmanian cherries being harvested
While the state media said it wasn t clear what the source country was, it was likely either Australia or Chile and anything contaminated had been destroyed. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping
Can Australia Restore Trade with China in a Hostile Political Environment?
Australia s new Trade Minister will need to navigate the treacherous terrain between trade and geopolitics, which will not be easy given the countervailing forces at work within the Morrison government. These are driving decisions to lower the curtain on significant Chinese investments in the Australian economy.
The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s task will be to find a way to restore a constructive trading partnership with China in the national interest.