Key lessons from China’s weaponisation of trade against Australia

China has dropped most of the sanctions imposed in 2020 with little to show for them.

One of the hardest-hit sectors has been Australia’s winemakers, who had spent years cultivating Chinese consumers. PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – In May 2020, barley farmers in Australia learnt the unfortunate news that their biggest overseas buyer, China, was about to impose tariffs that would effectively end the barley trade between the two countries.

And that was just the beginning.

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