Why Australia was China's 'biggest target' for coercion

"The comprehensive campaign, however, was not successful in changing Australia's policy, instead demonstrating the target's resilience and resolve," the report said. "The tactics deployed against Australia weren't necessarily about inflicting serious harm on a macroeconomic scale, but rather trying to provoke political actors to pressure the government. "With some exceptions, that didn't work and the business community was relatively muted in its criticism. Effective communication between government and business was an important part of the response." The next country most targeted by China was Lithuania with 11 actions. The Baltic nation of just 2.8 million people roused Beijing's ire after…