A general view of an Australian flag is seen outside the Great Hall of the People on April 9, 2013 in Beijing, China.
Feng Li | Getty Images
BEIJING – Tense China-Australia relations worsened Thursday after Beijing announced it had “indefinitely” suspended all activities as part of a high-level economic dialogue with one of its largest import sources.
It was not immediately clear what impact the announcement would have on trade between the two countries, which has already fallen under retaliatory pressure from Beijing.
The Australian dollar weakened against the US dollar after the news, falling nearly 77 cents after trading near 77.47 cents on Wednesday.
Beijing’s economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, said in an English-language statement Thursday that some Australian officials had recently taken unspecified measures “from the Cold War mindset” to disrupt cooperation with China.
The Commission stated that on the basis of this stance it had decided “to suspend all activities in the context of the strategic economic dialogue between China and Australia for an indefinite period”.
Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said in a statement the decision was “disappointing” and the country remains open to “dialogue and engagement at ministerial level”.
The China-Australia Chamber of Commerce in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The last meeting of the dialogue took place in 2017. The first meeting took place in 2015 when the two countries signed a free trade agreement. At the time, China was Australia’s largest trading partner.
Tensions increased in 2018 with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei’s 5G network ban in Australia and heightened with calls for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
China has since introduced anti-dumping probes for Australian wine imports and unofficially banned coal imports from the country. According to Reuters, China is still buying iron ore from Australia in order to import approximately $ 115.10 billion worth of imported Australian goods in the twelve months ended March.
The Australian government tightened control over overseas business and canceled two participants in the Belt and Road Initiative in April. Critics say the regional infrastructure development program is a way for Beijing to expand its influence overseas.
Earlier this week, Reuters, citing a government source, reported that Australia was considering leasing a port to a Chinese company.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of the National Development and Reform Commission.
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