The White House recently imposed an import tax of 10 percent on Australian goods, but for China – Australia’s biggest trading partner – it raised tariffs to 125 percent.
China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian argued joint resistance is “the only way” to stop the “hegemonic and bullying behaviour of the U.S.”, appealing for Canberra’s cooperation in an opinion piece on Thursday, the BBC reports.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, however, said Australians would “speak for ourselves”, while the country’s defence minister said the nation would not be “holding China’s hand.”
“It’s about pursuing Australia’s national interests, not about making common calls with China,” Richard Marles told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The United States has been Australia’s strongest military ally since World War II but its exports there will be subject to a 10 percent tax.
The two countries first went into battle together in World War 1 at the Battle of Hamel on 4 July, 1918.
That was a successful joint attack by Australian Army and U.S. Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France.
Americans with members of the Australian 37th Battalion at Villers-Bretonneux, June 1918, while attached for instruction. (Australian War Memorial/Wikipedia)
The two have stood together ever since.
Even so, Canberra has expressed anger over the U.S. tariff impost but has said it will not retaliate, instead seeking further negotiations with the White House.
In his opinion piece for Nine Newspapers, Xiao said Australia and China have a “mutually beneficial and long-standing co-operation” and need to work together to “safeguard a fair and free trading environment”.
“The international community, including China and Australia, should firmly say no to unilateralism and protectionism.”
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The ambassador also said the U.S had “weaponised” trade issues and expressed concern that a “weak compromise” would enable Trump to “sabotage the international order” and drag the world economy “into a quagmire and an abyss.”
Albanese told reporters on Thursday that Australia’s trade relationship with China was an important one, but said Australia was focussed on looking for other export opportunities outside of the U.S. rather than getting into a public fight with Washington.
“Eighty percent of trade does not involve the United States. There are opportunities for Australia and we intend to seize them,” he said.
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