‘We know the game China is playing’: Australian journalists who fled after diplomatic stand-off speak out

Two Australian journalists who fled China earlier this month have offered a bleak outlook for relations between the countries, with one raising the possibility of Beijing slapping further restrictions on Australian exports.

Smith, who was a correspondent for the Australian Financial Review in Shanghai, said there was widespread concern in Australia’s dairy industry that it could be hit next following restrictions targeting Australian beef, barley and wine. The trade measures have been widely seen in Australia as retaliation by its biggest trading partner over Canberra’s push for an independent international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, although Beijing has insisted they relate to the normal enforcement of quarantine and trade rules.

“There’s … a lot of talk about a possible anti-dumping inquiry into dairy. The industry is very nervous,” said Smith, who had reported from China since 2018 and also did stints in Hong Kong with Reuters and The Standard.