Australia’s economic resilience in the wake of China’s efforts to punish it for diplomatic slights has some Down Under declaring victory. They might be speaking too soon.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last month that China’s campaign to "make us more compliant” has "completely backfired.” Beijing’s pressure, he added, "has demonstrated to China that they can pull all these levers and it doesn’t actually work.”
Exports continue to scale record heights even as China has blocked or limited a growing number of imports from Australia since May 2020. Still, the dispute — China accuses Australia of taking a hostile approach on issues ranging from a clampdown on foreign investment to questions on the origins of COVID-19 — is casting a shadow over the future.