Australia leads widespread criticism of China at the WTO

Australia led an international pile on of criticism about China’s trade practices with a scorching address at the World Trade Organisation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: AFP

Australia has called out China as a threat to the global trading system in a scorching address at the World Trade Organisation.

In an extraordinary session in Geneva, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, India and Europe all joined an unprecedented pile on of criticism about China’s trade practices.

Australia’s statement was the bluntest and marked a step up in the Morrison government’s efforts to draw international attention to Beijing’s trade coercion.

“The implications of China’s actions go beyond their impact on Australian exporters – they raise the risk and uncertainty of the China market for the global business community,” Australia’s ambassador to the WTO, George Mina, told a hearing on China’s trade policy.

“China has assured members of its commitment to the rules-based order; but from our viewpoint there is a growing gap between China’s rhetoric and its actions,” Ambassador Mina said.

Trade minister Dan Tehan said Australia’s statement was part of its defence of international trade rules after Beijing’s extraordinary 18 month long campaign on goods previously worth more than $20 billion a year.

“It calls out what we think are practices that are politically motivated or could be politically motivated,” minister Tehan said on Thursday.

Australia’s robust contribution — part of the first regular WTO review of China’s trade practices since 2018 — was followed by a bevy of criticism of the Xi administration by other members.

Canada singled out Beijing’s “growing willingness to deploy economic coercive measures”; the British delegation expressed concerns about forced labour; the European Union was concerned about “China’s expansive use of an excessively broad concept of national security”.

The United States, Japan and India added further criticism in what was the most damning session China has faced at the international trade organisation since it joined in 2001.

“It was clearly a coordinated pile on,” said Jeffrey Wilson, an expert on international trade at the Perth USAsia Centre.

The @WTO Trade Policy Review process is an important way of shedding light on Members’ policies and practices.
 
Read Australia’s Statement on China’s Trade Policy Review today 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/9CqtNvv7cA

— George Mina (@AusWTO) October 20, 2021

The sweeping denunciation was made as China seeks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a giant trading block that the Turnbull government was instrumental in creating.

To join, China needs the support of all CPTPP members, including at least three countries it has used its trade coercion tactics on in recent years: Japan, Canada and Australia.

Trade Minister Tehan has previously said Australia will only support China’s entry if it can demonstrate it will follow the rules of the trade agreements it signs up to.

“Now, we haven’t seen much change over the last 12 to 18 months, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t keep putting our case, and that’s why this transparency review at the World Trade Organisation was so important,” Mr Tehan said on Thursday.

He noted that one of the unofficially banned Australian products — coal — was now in shortage in China, which is experiencing a rolling power crisis.

“We remain a willing seller of coal to China, and we think we could help them with their energy crisis,” Mr Tehan said.

“So, this is how the economic relationship can help both countries, and we want to get back to how it was before 18 months ago.”

The Australian statement in Geneva outlined Beijing’s array of trade disruptive practices in unprecedented detail.

“These included increased and arbitrary border testing and inspections; unwarranted delays in listed and re-listing export establishments, issuing import license and other restrictions, and the imposition of unjustified anti-dumping and countervailing duties.”

The Xi administration’s measures have severely limited Australia’s trade with China of barley, coal, copper ores and concentrates, hay, logs, rock lobsters, sugar and wine, the government said.

Other products hindered or disrupted, the Australian government said, included beef, citrus fruit, grains and table grapes.

China has also limited Australia’s market access for dairy, infant formula and meat.

Most of the lost trade has been redirected to other markets, while China has continued to buy Australian iron ore and liquefied natural gas at record levels – and record prices – undermining the macroeconomic impact of Beijing’s trade attack.