SYDNEY—Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has cautioned China against attempts at “economic coercion” as Australia pushes for an investigation into the CCP virus pandemic.
Payne said in a statement on April 27 that Australia had made a “principled call” for an independent review of the COVID-19 outbreak which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
“We reject any suggestion that economic coercion is an appropriate response to a call for such an assessment, when what we need is global cooperation,” Payne said.
China’s foreign ministry retaliated against Australia’s proposal. Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review on Monday that the “Chinese public” could avoid Australian products and universities.
China is the largest export market for Australian wine and beef. During strained diplomatic relations with China in 2018, Australian wine faced import delays in China and some Australian beef exports were also previously suspended for a period.
The Chinese embassy in Australia has previously warned Chinese students about what it said were safety risks in traveling to Australia.
Payne said an “honest assessment” of the pandemic would seek to strengthen the WHO’s role.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang dismissed calls for an investigation during a daily briefing in Beijing, though not commenting specifically about Australia.
