Mark McGowan demands Federal Government sort China issue as timber, crayfish industries hit by trade war

Premier Mark McGowan is demanding the Federal Government come up with a strategy to mend Australia’s relationship with China — saying hundreds of thousands of West Australian jobs depend on it. China has continued to escalate the trade war. Crayfish and tonight timber were the latest Australian industries targeted. Barley, beef, wine and cotton are among those already exposed, with seemingly no answer for a way forward coming from the Morrison Government. And now WA’s iron ore industry is increasingly fearful it will be next, with mining executives working around the clock to keep the peace with China. Mr McGowan told The West Australian tonight his Government “has worked hard to maintain good relationships with China as our major trading partner” and that the Federal Government needed to step it up to repair relations between Beijing and Canberra. “Hundreds of thousands of Western Australian jobs depend on a strong relationship with China,” Mr McGowan said. “It’s crucial the Federal Government has a plan to protect WA jobs. As we continue on the path to economic recovery, continued co-operation with our biggest trading partners will be critical.” Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable told The West Australian the sector was “vigilant” to exposure. “There is always that risk but we are working hard for that scenario not to occur in Australia,” Ms Constable said. “We are trying to work with government and business in China to assure everybody that we are a reliable supplier of minerals and (our) metals are high quality compared to the rest of the world.” At the weekend shipments of rock lobster were delayed from clearing customs, with Chinese officials increasing the inspection and testing regime. Tonight it also emerged acceptance of Queensland timber logs heading to China had been suspended after officials had detected a bark beetle. Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene said he didn’t believe the tensions with China would ease until business leaders were allowed to travel there for face-to-face meetings. He said the entire 40,000-strong wine industry workforce was exposed because of China’s current anti-dumping investigation and potential tariffs. China and international studies expert at the Australian National University John Blaxland said the Federal Government should “avoid hawkish rhetoric”. However, he conceded “that’s hard to do though if China is looking for a barney”. Today both Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said they had still not been able to get on the phone directly to the Chinese Government to talk about continued trade issues. “We will work with the Chinese authorities to investigate and resolve these issues,” Mr Littleproud said. Senator Birmingham, who took over from Mathias Cormann as Finance Minister last week, said Australia valued its relationship with China. “It is mutually beneficial to both nations, and we would urge that all of these issues be resolved through appropriate dialogue and recognition of the benefits to Chinese businesses and consumers, to Australian businesses and consumers, and indeed to the broader region and our economic recovery,” he said.