Standing up to bullies might be good advice for the playground but doesn't quite cut it when your tormentor is your biggest trading partner, as Australia is learning to its peril.

Exports of Australian wine and lobster, which surged thanks largely to China's rapidly growing middle-class, are now on life support. The barley and beef trade has been hit. Even coal, thought to be critical to China's economic machine, is suddenly dispensable. Only iron ore seems safe, for now.