WTO move highlights China’s disdain for the global rule book

The federal government’s move to take China to the World Trade Organisation over its tariffs on Australian barley will not please Beijing.

But it is an overdue recognition of the fact that China is simply not engaging with Australia over a slew of increasingly worrying trade disputes, using trade issues to retaliate for its complaints about policies of the federal government it disagrees with.

While it now has a long list of complaints about federal government policies it doesn’t like — from Australia’s policy on 5G to foreign investment review board decisions against Chinese companies — the fact is that as a member of the WTO, which it so eagerly joined in 2001, China is supposed to abide by certain rules.

China has more than benefited from joining the WTO under favourable conditions that paved the way for an unprecedented level of trade with the rest of the world since then. President Xi Jinping in a speech to the Davos forum in January 2017 painted himself as a champion of global free trade at a time when the newly elected Don­ald Trump was becoming overtly protectionist with his America First policies.

Yet with actions launched this year on so many fronts — barley, beef, coal, wine and timber — it is clear China is now using trade as a political retaliatory measure.

The announcement of 80 per cent tariffs on barley imports followed China’s anger at Australia’s call for an inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 virus and comments by its ambassador to Australia that China could respond by not buying Australian goods.

No doubt emboldened by Trump’s tariff-slapping policies that also violated WTO rules, China has been too clever by half in finding all sorts of faults with Australian exports this year.

Relations, it seems, have broken down, with the Chinese side cutting off communication when Australia sought to have discussions on a wide range of trade issues. Looking back, the last constructive engagement appears to have been when Trade Minister Steven Ciobo was able to smooth things over in face-to-face meetings in Beijing after four abattoirs had licenses to sell to China suspended in 2017.

Having engaged with China over two years over the issue of barley since the Ministry of Commerce began investigating potential dumping, the federal govern­ment is well within its rights to take the issue to the WTO umpire.

While it has not handled its political ties with China well, Australia is entitled to argue that trade is a separate issue that is subject to the global rule book to which China is still officially signed up.

If China intends to use trade as a retaliatory measure for policies of governments it doesn’t like- and refuse to acknowledge or even discuss legitimate trade issues, Australia has no option but to ­appeal to the trade umpire.

China has played cat and mouse games with Australian coal for more than a year now, pretending there is no official policy discouraging the use of Australian coal while it is becoming blatantly obvious there is.

No one can force China to buy Australian goods but the WTO appeal is a reminder to Beijing that there is a global process which can’t be completely ignored.