Row over coronavirus probe sparks fears of China-Australia economic decoupling

Tit-for-tat row over Canberra’s push for a Covid-19 inquiry leaves Australian traders fearing a boycott by Chinese consumers

While some observers say the spat is likely to blow over, others warn it could lead to a permanent trade stand-off

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A customer selects baby milk in a supermarket in Hainan. File photo: AFP

Published: 7:30am, 30 Apr 2020Updated: 5:02pm, 5 May 2020

Australian cattle producer and beef exporter Robert Mackenzie is concerned that rising political tensions between Beijing and Canberra could hurt his meat export relations with China, which he has spent five years cultivating.

MacKenzie, who co-manages his family’s fifth-generation company Macka's Beef producing Angus cattle in New South Wales, has A$750,000 (US$488,000) worth of beef exports sitting in Beijing awaiting deployment, and the last thing he needs is a trade disruption between the countries.

But the absence of a backlash from his clients, in the wake of Australia pushing for an international inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic, has left MacKenzie feeling hopeful, even as the governments of both sides have engaged into an escalating tit-for-tat row over the matter.

“I don’t think it would play out badly – we need each other,” MacKenzie said. “We have cultural differences, but like a marriage, we have ups and downs … our governments are smart enough to not let this get in the way of our trade.”

Sydney milk and seafood exporter Tyler Ye also said he has not seen his Chinese consumers change their minds, but fears it would not be long before they turned their backs on Australian products, referencing a separate incident when Australian MP George Christensen wanted to take back land owned by Chinese firms as compensation for the coronavirus outbreak.

The incident drove one of Ye’s Chinese selling agents, who markets his Australian private milk label Single Estate Diary in Guangxi, to launch into an expletive-laden outburst on WeChat, saying: “Australian dogs want us to import their fresh milk but they talk bad about us.”

Ye said comments such as those from Christensen were counterproductive to Australia’s trade interests.