‘We are not defenceless’: China’s trade bans punished the CCP more than Australia

Australia-China Relations Institute Director and Professor James Laurenceson says China’s trade tariffs hurt them more than it punished us as Australian producers “shrugged their shoulders” and sold to global markets.

“China tried to hit us with trade to punish our economy, they tried to infiltrate us with spies,” he said.

“Did they succeed? No, they failed.

“Our producers shrugged their shoulders, why? Because they are selling to global markets, overnight, low cost, bang, it actually hurt China more than it hurt us.

“I am not trying to pretend that China is this lovely, cuddly place that we should snuggle up to, but the point is we are not defenceless.”