Furious Australians are vowing to boycott some of the nation’s biggest wine brands after a viral post named and shamed 41 vineyards with links to China.
The move comes after China imposed a 212 per cent tariff on Australian wine last week which threatens to cripple the $6billion industry. And on Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry increased the pain even further by imposing additional duties of between 6.3 and 6.4 per cent which will be introduced on Friday.
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.
Australia’s wine industry exports 39 percent of all its total product to China.
The authoritarian state’s wine sanction are only part of the trade subsidies on a range of Australian goods following Canberra publicly calling for an inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic, which in widely believed to have originated in Wuhan.
Many Australians were stunned to discover how many wineries were owned by or had links to Chinese investors as the list 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.
And 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 the proposed boycott as un-Australian, unfair and misguided.
Kilikanoon Wines, based in South Australia, is owned by Chinese winemaker Changyu Pioneer Wine Co
Knappstein was bought by to Australian Yinmore Wines, which was part of the China-based Yunnan Yinmore Group, reportedly for $15 million
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.
‘Now is the time for the wine community to do what it does best, to continue to help each other grow the opportunities for Australian wine domestically and internationally.’
Shereen Foong, from Palinda Wines in Western Australia, said the boycott was ‘stupid’ after the label was included on the list.
‘It would have an economic impact on Australians. No matter what your ethnicity, if you’re living in Australia, you should be looking out for Australians,’ she said.
Palinda Wines, owned by businessman Jacky Wong, only exports its wines to China, therefore the boycott would not impact the company, Ms Foong said.
South Australian-based vineyard Knappstein, which was reportedly bought out by China-linked Australian Yinmore Wines for $15million, was also on the list.
The Wild Cattle Creek Estate, near Seville, in the Yarra Valley was also bought by Chinese investors for $8.5 million in 2018.
Hillcrest Winery and Distillery was bought by Chinese investors in 2018 for $4.6 million
Wild Cattle Creek Estate, near Seville, was bought by Chinese investors for $8.5 million in 2018
However, despite the pleas of the wineries, many Australians were perplexed by the number of wineries either owned by or with strong links to Chinese investors.
‘No wonder some Aussies always say the government is selling the country to China,’ one person wrote.
Another said: ‘Aussie winemakers have been teaching the Chinese how to make wine for years. For what, to screw us over?’
‘The Chinese people don’t trust their own Government, why should we. Quite frankly we have been taken for suckers for the sake of the almighty dollar. Have we learnt anything yet? I doubt it.’
The introduction of huge tariffs last week, brought in as apparent payback after Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus, is likely to see the industry decimated – having already been badly hit by bushfires and drought.
Lawmakers from around the world who form the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China have urged their citizens to buy a ‘bottle or two’ of Australian wine before Christmas as a show of support.
Travis Fuller, general manager at Kilikanoon, has called for Australians to support the vineyards rather than try to hurt them
It follows a US National Security Council Tweet in recent days declaring that Australian wine will be featured at a White House holiday reception this week.
‘Pity vino lovers in China who, due to Beijing’s coercive tariffs on Aussie vintners, will miss out. #AussieAussieAussieOiOiOi!’ the official Twitter message states.
Relations between Australia 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 back in April 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 this month 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.
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.
Tensions have also spiked over allegations of widespread state-sponsored cyber attacks by China, and after ASIO raided the homes of Chinese journalists suspected of political interference.
On Monday, the situation reached fever pitch after Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao posted a doctored image showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.
The artwork referred to revelations made last month in the Bereton inquiry, claiming 25 Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded an apology and called for the Asian superpower to take down the ‘repugnant’ fake image.
Australian plans to take China to the World Trade Organisation over ‘politically motivated’ tariff increases (pictured, President Xi Jinping left and Prime Minister Scott Morrison right)
On Tuesday, Australian embassy officials met with Chinese Foreign Ministry representatives seeking a formal apology over the fake image.
But Beijing has since doubled down on their attacks against Australia, posting another controversial image in a state-owned newspaper depicting a kangaroo with a blood soaked knife in a bow tie.
Labor opposition leader Anthony Albanese has taken aim at Scott Morrison for letting the relationship deteriorate to the point of complete breakdown.
‘Anything that hurts Australian jobs is not a good thing. So, we need to work on the relationship,’ he told 2SM radio.
‘This government seems to have presided over a complete breakdown of relationships. The fact that ministers can’t pick up the phone to each other, I find that extraordinary.’
The $6billion Australian wine industry exports about 39 per cent of all its product to China (pictured, Penfolds wine)
Hostilities between Australia and China have soared in recent years after a number of diplomatic spats (Penfolds wine is stacked on a shelf in China)
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