The US secretary of state has hit back at China by tweeting an image featuring a popular bottle of Australian red wine – as global world leaders rush to support their friends Down Under.
Australian vineyards have been slapped with crippling 200 per cent tariffs by China, as the communist nation ramps up the trade war between the two countries.
Mike Pompeo tweeted the image on December 27, which also featured a highlighted bible passage from Corinthians about the importance of fighting for freedom.
The Australian drop was a Max’s Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia from 2017, which retails between $20 and $30.
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‘Tonight, we’re freely worshiping Jesus Christ and drinking Australian wine — two things that the CCP does not allow #FightForFreedom,’ Mr Pompeo tweeted.
The tweet from US secretary of state Mike Pompeo (pictured above) which quickly went viral
As of Monday afternoon, the tweet had over 65,500 likes on social media and was retweeted an estimated 13,600 times by Twitter followers.
Earlier this month, political leaders from around the world rallied behind Australia in response to China’s tariffs on wine which threaten to cripple the $6billion industry.
Australia’s wine industry exports 39 per cent of all its total product to China.
The introduction of huge tariffs, brought in as a reported payback after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China back in April – could see the industry decimated.
Many businesses were already suffering, having been badly hit by bushfires and drought the past 12 months.
Many politicians fear China is trying to assert dominance over Australia as relations between the two nations reach an all-time low.
Politicians from across the world recently rallied together to produce a video urging millions of drinkers to stock up on Australian wine.
‘The Chinese government handed Australia a list of 14 grievances demanding that Australia stops voicing out in defence of human rights and the rules-based order,’ Australian Senator Kimberley Kitching said in the video.
‘China has cancelled a whole range of Australian imports in an attempt to bully us into abandoning our values.’
She warned that this is not just an attack on Canberra, but a shot across the bow of ‘free countries everywhere’.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured) has showcased his support for Australia as trade tensions continue with China
Penfolds has a reputation across the world as one of Australia’s best winemakers (stock image) but is now also subject to the tariffs
Also appearing in the video, US Senator Ted Yoho said that while he ‘normally enjoys’ California wine, he planned to drink ‘something a little different over December because our friends need our help’ – with a bottle of Penfolds in the background.
‘This December, we are asking you to join us in standing against Xi Jinping’s authoritarian bullying,’ Slovakian politician Miriam Lexmann added.
‘By drinking a bottle or two of Australian wine and letting the Chinese Communist Party know that we will not be bullied,’ Swedish MP Elisabet Lann added in the video, with two bottles of wine beside her as she cradled a glass.
Relations between Australia and China have reached their lowest point in decades this year with a litany of diplomatic spats compromising the robust economic partnership.
The banning of Huawei from the nation’s 5G network in 2018 on the grounds of national security concerns infuriated the totalitarian state, but it was Mr Morrison’s call for an independent international inquiry in the origins of the coronavirus earlier this year which prompted a drastic response from Beijing.
China immediately slapped the 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, suspended beef imports and told students and tourists not to travel down under.
Beijing again responded with fury and outrage early in December when Mr Morrison set off to Japan – one of China’s greatest historic rivals – to strengthen trade and military ties.
Days after, Beijing published a list of 14 grievances against Australia.
The laundry list included everything from ‘unfair media reports’ to Canberra’s criticism of China over its human rights abuses as payback China has targeted up to $20billion in key Australian exports – including barley, coal, sugar, timber, lobster, copper, cotton and wine.
