Chinese mouthpiece tweets new offensive cartoon as world urged to drink Australian wine

People around the world have been urged to buy Australian wine. It comes as China published new cartoons overnight, including one that depicts a bloodied kangaroo.

Countries around the world have urged their citizens to buy Australian wine in a show of solidarity against “intense pressure from the Chinese government”.

Aussie wine will be the flavour of the month around the globe after Beijing slapped a 212 per cent tariff on our wine as tensions escalate between the two nations.

Relations hit a new low when a Chinese official tweeted a fake image depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an alliance of 19 nations determined to combat Beijing’s influence, has launched a global campaign urging people to buy Australian wine “as the country withstands intense pressure from the Chinese government”.

An employee in a Beijing wine store. Picture: AFP

Meanwhile, China’s government mouthpiece The Global Times has published a cartoon depicting a bloodied kangaroo while demanding Australia apologise to China’s “wolf warrior artist”.

Overnight the publication posted a series of scathing tweets about Australia and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The latest cartoon appeared in a piece criticising the PM for his shock over a tweet featuring a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of what appears to be an Afghan child. The image was created by Chinese artist Fu Yu – known as Wuheqilin.

#Opinion: A Chinese artist expressed his anger and condemnation against Australian troops’ war crimes with a cartoon. A Chinese diplomat put it on Twitter. They are practicing their freedom of speech. Ridiculously, such moves are intolerant to Australia.https://t.co/xpGYzwwddu

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 1, 2020

Britain, New Zealand and the United States have rallied behind Australia in a growing diplomatic row with China, as Chinese state media labelled Australia “evil”, “rude and arrogant”.

Australia’s business community is urging the Federal Government to keep searching for a “circuit breaker” as relations with China plunge to their lowest point in 50 years, while experts warn Beijing will continue to target trade.

Twitter is refusing to remove the post by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, which sparked the international incident.

The social-media giant has instead labelled as “sensitive” the fake image depicting an Australian soldier threatening to kill an Afghan child.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, pictured, said her nation had registered concerns directly with Chinese authorities about the Twitter image, saying NZ would “speak up on issues that we have concerns about” and calling it an “unfactual post”.

An official White House National Security Council social-media account said Australian wine would be featured at a White House event this week.

“Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie vintners, will miss out,” it said, adding: “AussieAussieAussieOiOiOi”.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking to media ahead of the first day of Parliament following the country’s election. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

A British Government spokesperson also told Channel 7: “We will always stand shoulder to shoulder with allies, including Australia, to protect our key interests and values.”

Chinese state media The Global Times accused Australia of “evil acts toward China”, such as calling out human rights abuses or blocking Huawei from its 5G network.

It said Scott Morrison had “lost his diplomatic manners” when demanding an apology from Beijing, and warned there would be retribution if Australia conducted naval exercises near China’s shores.

Australia China Business Council national president David Olsson has urged Canberra to keep seeking a “circuit-breaker” with Beijing, saying it “may continue to spurn any and all proposals, but we cannot afford to stop trying”.

Mr Olsson said China’s wine import tax was the latest move “calculated to provoke anger and outrage in Australia” so business leaders and the community would pressure the government to respond to China’s grievances.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared virtually during Question Time today while still in quarantine after a diplomatic visit to Japan. Picture: Gary Ramage

He called for “every avenue” to be explored “to get us back to the diplomatic table”.

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene did not believe there was any chance of de-escalation in the short term, adding “relationships appear to be at rock bottom”.

The wine sector wants the government to implement a 10-year market diversification strategy in the wake of China imposing wine tariffs.

GrainGrowers chief executive David McKeon has also called for the government to “accelerate market development” for its crops internationally, after China this year targeted barley with an 80.5 per cent import tax.

The Twitter post by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian which sparked the diplomatic incident. Picture: Twitter

Originally published as Chinese mouthpiece tweets new offensive cartoon as world urged to drink Australian wine