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For Chinese-Australians, Beijing dispute is bad for business even if bid to ‘weaponise’ trade has crumbled
- Small ethnic Chinese businesses such as winemakers and the ‘daigou’ industry have seen a rapid drop in mainland customers as relations worsen
- They are also treated differently in Australia, and many believe Canberra could do more to ease tensions, especially after the Aukus security pact
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Australian tea company owner Lisa Song had been planning to launch tea blends and infusers for the first time in China last year, but despite being armed with a business plan and a distribution channel, she decided that a delay was inevitable.
Her company, Golden Wattle Tea, which she founded in 2015, specialises in herbal teas made with natural botanicals and “adaptogens” grown and harvested in Australia.
For Song, who was born in China and has lived in Sydney for nearly 30 years, selling to China is now fraught with uncertainty as Canberra’s political tensions with Beijing continue to plumb new depths.
Relations were already shaky over Australia’s moves to shut out Huawei Technologies Co. from 5G networks and its implementation of a foreign interference law aimed at countering Chinese influence in domestic affairs, but nosedived last year when Canberra called for an independent international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
Beijing responded with billions of dollars of restrictions, banning Australian exports of coal, wine, beef, cotton and timber, even as it continued to take in imports such as copper and wheat.
“You just don’t know how Chinese customs will treat products coming from Australia, which is fair enough because Australia has been provoking them all the time,” said Song, echoing a view among some ethnic Chinese that Canberra should have made efforts to de-escalate the disagreement and communicate more with Beijing.
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