We have issued warnings, and Australia has listened! Australia has made its position clear: joining hands with the U.S. to confront China on trade issues is not an option for Australia! Following the agreement between the U.S. and the U.K., and after China criticized the U.K., stating that any cooperation agreements between countries should not target a third party or harm its interests, on May 19th, Australian Trade Minister Farrell clarified Australia's stance.
Farrell said that we will decide how to engage with China based on Australia's national interests, not according to what the U.S. wants or doesn't want. China is our largest trading partner. For Australia, the value of trade with China is almost ten times that of trade with the U.S., and we hope to conduct more trade with China. Clearly, after our warnings, this statement from Australia undoubtedly tells the U.S. loud and clear: economic and trade confrontation with China is not an option for Australia.
Now, the agreement between the U.S. and Australia is still unresolved, and the U.S.'s latest statement is that if countries do not "genuinely" negotiate and fail to reach a trade agreement before the tariff deferral period expires in early July, the tariff rates will quickly return to the "liberation day" level. Undoubtedly, facing this trade bullying from the U.S., Australia's choice is to continue deepening cooperation with China, which it believes is the best choice for Australia.
It cannot be denied that Australia has listened to our warnings, and on the other hand, in terms of economic and trade issues, Australia is pragmatic. The U.S. is using threats and adding clauses targeting us to force all parties to reach an agreement, but now it seems that the U.S. will not succeed. With Albanese's second term beginning, we believe there will be further cooperation between China and Australia.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832514597590025/
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