Australia’s trade fight with China cost it about $3 billion in commodities sales last year, and that relatively small impact suggests there’s little economic need for the country to bow to Beijing’s pressure.
That’s the value of Australian exports lost in 2020 compared to the prior year, and covers commodities from copper and coal to wine and lobsters that are now subject to trade restrictions by Beijing, according to Chinese customs data. The impact on some of those industries has been savage as exporters are forced to abandon their biggest market and seek customers elsewhere.
At the same time, China’s state-aided splurge on infrastructure to rescue its economy from the pandemic has lifted the amount of iron ore it needs to fuel record-breaking steel production. And there, Australia is the dominant producer. Purchases by China rose almost $10 billion last year.