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Highlights
- Australia wants to join WTO talks over a trade dispute between China and EU.
- Chinese trade practices are a threat to the integrity of single market, says EU.
- Relations between China and Australia took a hit in 2018.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Saturday that Australia will seek to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks over a trade dispute between China and the European Union (EU).
On Thursday (January 27, 2022), China was accused by the EU of following discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania. The EU had claimed that the Chinese trade practices should be seen as a threat to the integrity of single market.
Earlier, Lithuania's decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius did not go down well with China as it decided to downgrade its ties with the Baltic nation. It is to be noted that China considers Taiwan as its own territory.
China also decided to refuse to clear Lithuanian goods through Chinese customs and said that it will reject import applications from Lithuania. The Chinese government also put pressure on EU firms to remove the goods manufactured in the Baltic nation from supply chains when exporting their materials to China.
Australia Seeks to Join EU's Trade Row Talks Against China
Notably, relations between China and Australia took a hit in 2018 after the government decided to ban Huawei Technologies from its 5G broadband network. The relations soured further after Canberra formulated tougher laws to check foreign political interference and demanded an independent probe into the origins of coronavirus.
The steps taken by Australian government did not go down well with China and the Asian nation hit back by imposing tariffs on coal, beef, barley and other Australian commodities.
Image : Image source: © Sergioz | Megapixl.com
Australia approached the WTO and filed two complaints highlighting the duties imposed by China on imports of bottled wine and barley.
Read: How did Australia record mind-blowing earnings despite having a Chinese import ban?
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday welcoming an invitation from France to Indo-Pacific foreign ministers meeting next month.
It is to be noted that the relations between Australia and France soured last year after Canberra inked a security pact with the US and Britain and cancelled a submarine deal with Paris.
