The highly respected scholar has issued criticism that has blinded Australia’s strong reliance on China’s trade agreement over the years between the current trade war and market forces.
It comes as tens of thousands of Chinese people flock to social media in the country to protest against new power lines in the country’s central and eastern provinces following the Aussie coal ban.
‘All Eggs In One Basket’
Professor John Blaxland of the Asian and Pacific College of Australia National University today said China’s “punishment” on Australia, as it has hampered many sectors in recent weeks, will ultimately lead to national image damage and potential consequences from the World Trade Organization. .
However, he added that Australia has a certain responsibility to “put all its eggs in one basket” in trades with China only.
“Global trade is a powerful equality, so while China thinks it may want to punish Australia for stopping trade with many products it feels has a certain level of freedom, especially not metal at the moment, it is important that they stop buying from us and buy from someone else. in China, they have left an opportunity for Australia to sell as well, ”said Professor Blaxland.
Australia-China Trade Tensions
He added that Australia’s steps to seek help to resolve disputes with the World Trade Organization would send an important global message.
“Australia is not a great power. We rely on the so-called laws based on the global system of work and part of that is the World Trade Organization, and we need it to work, ”he explained.
“Investing in trade disputes is therefore important not only for us, but also for the message and the world at large. Undoubtedly it will take a long time to resolve, but it basically says in China look you can go this route but there are famous results and a possible decision the World Trade Organization will come up with. “
It comes after a major commercial power that has imposed severe restrictions on many Australian sectors, including wine, timber, barley and lobster in recent weeks.
Aussie coal has also been banned illegally since October, where steel mills and power companies are being mined.
It also emerged that more than 60 ships carrying hot coal and cooking ports off the coast of China could not unload an estimated $ 700 million Australian cargo.
Sectors At Risk
According to Professor Blaxland, many sectors could be at risk.
“There are a lot of opportunities to have multiple (endangered) sectors. We have invested heavily in China, and part of that is because it has been so easy for so long. All you had to do was pick up one thing and get to the 1.3 billion market, what could go wrong? ”He said.
“There is truth in the saying ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ (and) we should have seen this before,” he added.
But all is lost, with an economist adding that Australia has other trade routes to try.
“We have trade agreements with Indonesia, across South East Asia, India is opening up,” he said, adding: that the power to change is changing and we will see many opportunities there. ”
His comments come as residents of Zhejiang province, home to an estimated 57 million people, have taken to social media in China to complain about power shortages, according to the Market Herald.
While Chinese state-controlled media avoided linking the coal price and power restrictions to Beijing’s ban on the sale of coal from Australia, the country’s industrial analysts focused on issues shared by China’s media.
“Many coastal power plants have repaired power stations to use Australian coal,” writes a Chinese industrial company, which also notes the “large-scale gap” between Australian coal and Indonesia and Russia.
According to The Australian, electricity shortages are rampant in China with millions of citizens using their winter heat and avoiding the use of elevators.
“You can not pretend that bad relations between China and Australia have not contributed to this situation,” said the Chinese energy minister.
Last year, Australia supplied more than half of China’s hot coal imports to power stations and more than 40 percent of national coal-fired imports.
According to Garda World, the world’s largest private security services company that provides business solutions, power shortages are expected to affect parts of Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces by early February 2021.
That could lead to temporary disruption of communications and communications, including cell phones, and traffic disruption caused by poor road signals and train delays due to impact signaling devices or overhead cables.
What Next?
Chains of supply and essential services such as ATMs and gas stations could also be disrupted, with officials ordering many industries to operate only non-peak hours.
Speaking to media.com.au earlier this month, Professor James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS, touched on the difficulties facing China and said that with more restrictions imposed, Beijing is at risk of damaging its own interest.
“For example, iron ore could do a lot of damage to Australia, but if China hit that, it would shoot itself in the foot and beyond,” he said at the time.
As the war of words between the two nations intensifies, attention is now shifting to other Australian industries that could follow China’s trade war.
