News Snapshot:
The Australian government desperately hopes this week’s AUSMIN meetings between Australian and US officials will see greater practical American support being delivered in the face of ongoing trade strikes by China. Reports confirm [1] that measures to combat Chinese economic coercion will be discussed at the meetings between Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Defence Minister Peter Dutton and their American counterparts. This desire is readily understood: China’s US$14.7 trillion (A$20 trillion) economy towers [2] over Australia’s at $US1.3 trillion (A$1.7 trillion). And since May 2020, China has blocked or disrupted [3] around a dozen Australian exports, including beef, wine, barley and...
