China targets $6b of Australian exports in fresh campaign

Michael Smith, Angus Grigg, Brad Thompson and Andrew Tillett

Updated Nov 3, 2020 – 11.48am, first published at 8.41am

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China is threatening to impose bans on up to $6 billion of key Australian exports from Friday under a widely distributed notice sent to the country's food and wine distributors, raising fears of a second wave of economic coercion as diplomatic relations hit a new low.

The addition of copper ore and sugar to a growing list of commodities targeted by Chinese authorities alarmed the agricultural and mining sectors, which were on Tuesday scrambling to verify the authenticity of the notice.

Michael Smith is the health editor for The Australian Financial Review. He is based in Sydney.

Angus Grigg is an investigative reporter based in Sydney. He has worked as a foreign correpondent in China and Indonesia, and has won two Walkley Awards.

Brad Thompson writes across business and politics from Western Australia for The Australian Financial Review. Brad is based in our Perth bureau.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery.