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The editor-in-chief of Chinese government mouthpiece The Global Times enjoyed lunch at the Australian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday as a guest of our ambassador.
Australia’s top diplomat in China, Graham Fletcher, invited outspoken Australian critic Hu Xijin to dine with him a few hours before the tabloid decided that ‘China-Australia relations need to improve’.
Editor Hu and his paper published a piece recently saying Scott Morrison should ‘slap himself in the face’ after he demanded an apology over a fake image of an Australian soldier tweeted by a Chinese official.
Editor of The Global Times, Hu Xijin (pictured), has been one of Australia’s loudest critics in China recently
Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher (pictured), invited the editor of the Chinese tabloid for lunch at the embassy on Wednesday
The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the communist government, recently shared an image depicting the Australian prime minister in a war zone, pointing at a child screaming ‘apologise!’
While Mr Fletcher was tight lipped about the conversation over lunch, Mr Hu took to his personal social media account on Weibo where he gave details to his 24million followers.
‘I was invited to have lunch with the Australian Ambassador to China Mr Graham Fletcher. China-Australia relations are so tense now, I believe it is not easy to be an ambassador to China now,’ Mr Hu wrote.
Mr Hu’s paper has recently tweeted a cartoon mocking Australian prime minister Scott Morrison after he demanded China apologise over a government official tweeting the propaganda image of an Australia soldier holding a knife to an Afghan child.
The two countries have also been locked in simmering trade war for the last eight months with the Asian superpower hitting Australian exports such as wine and barley with huge tariffs.
The communist nation has gone on the offensive after Australia spoke up on issues such as pushing for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus and being critical of China’s expansion in the South China Sea.
Mr Hu said Australia is perceived as the most unfriendly country towards China currently with the exception of the United States.
He specifically mentioned Australia excluding Huawei from construction of its 5G network and the passing of an ‘Anti-Foreign Interference’ law aimed at China.
Mr Hu said the Australian ambassador explained to him at the meeting that he hopes tensions ease between the two nations.
‘He asked me to note that Australia’s attitude on many issues related to China is different from that of the United States … he also said that Australia is an ally of the United States and this cannot be changed,’ Mr Hu wrote.
The Global Times newspaper said Beijing can easily replace Australian wine and other products like barley (pictured) – which have been hit with heavy tariffs in recent months
This image, shared online by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, is what first sparked the latest diplomatic row – falsely showing an Australian soldier holding a knife to a child’s throat
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao (pictured) posted a doctored image of showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child
An editorial published in the Global Times this week echoed what Mr Hu said was discussed in the meeting, finishing on a positive note.
‘2020 is almost over. Looking to 2021, China-Australia relations need to improve.’
China is Australia’s largest trading nation – with two way trade between the countries amounting to $252billion in 2019.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on Thursday warned the world is watching as China picks off more Australian export markets one by one.
Cotton and wheat farmers have been warned they could be next after China extended sanctions on Australian timber and slapped new ones on lamb.
Honey and pharmaceutical producers could also be targeted as the trade dispute continues to spiral.
China imposed a 212 per cent tariff on Australian wine last week which threatens to cripple the $6billion industry.
The massive tariffs and duties on Australian wine – which exports a staggering 39% of all its product to China – followed claims by the Beijing foreign exporters were ‘dumping’ cheap wine on the Chinese market.
Many Australians were stunned to discover how many wineries were owned by or had links to Chinese investors on a list that was circulated online on Wednesday.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest the owners of the vineyards support China’s communist regime or that they are influenced by Beijing.
Kilikanoon Wines, based in South Australia, is owned by Chinese winemaker Changyu Pioneer Wine Co
Hillcrest Winery and Distillery was bought by Chinese investors in 2018 for $4.6 million
Some of the vineyards singled out by the Vino e Amigos Facebook page hit back at calls for their popular wines to be blacklisted, labelling any boycott as un-Australian, unfair and misguided.
Travis Fuller, general manager at Kilikanoon, called for Australians to support local vineyards rather than try to hurt them.
Kilikanoon Wines, based in South Australia, was snapped up by China’s largest wine company Changyu Pioneer Wine Co. in 2018.
The company purchased an 80 per cent stake in the winery in 2018 for $20.6million before buying an additional 15 per cent stake in August this year for $3.91million.
Mr Fuller said the company employed 32 direct staff and 20 growers and families who all lived within the Clare Valley region.
‘Like any other close knit member of the wine community, we continue to strive to successfully grow our regional wine business across the globe,’ he said.
Senator Birmingham said China had displayed an unacceptable pattern of behaviour this year that undermined its free trade deal with Australia and flouted global commitments to the World Trade Organisation.
‘Australia is not the only country that has seen these types of punitive measures and I expect the rest of the world will be watching quite closely what is happening in Australia,’ he told ABC radio on Thursday.
Chinese media has warned that Australia is ‘economically dependent on China’. Pictured: Australian-made wine in Beijing
‘This is damaging not just in terms of the business or trade relationship, but it is damaging in terms of heightening the level of risk and concern that businesses right around the world have in terms of dealing with China.
‘It doesn’t just increase that risk profile for Australian businesses, it does so for everyone.’
Senator Birmingham said Australian exporters needed to balance risk and reward in their approach to China.
‘Through the course of this year, unfortunately, the risk of trade with China has heightened considerably,’ he said.
Many sectors are still seeing record-breaking levels of trade despite the worsening Chinese dispute.
Wild Cattle Creek Estate, near Seville, was bought by Chinese investors for $8.5 million in 2018
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