China has linked hefty tariffs on Australian barley to past disputes between the two nations, comparing track records on trade investigations.
The Chinese commerce minister said Beijing had been cautious and restrained in imposing trade remedies.
Zhong Shan said China had only launched one trade investigation against Australia in almost 50 years, compared to more than 100 by Australia.
But Trade Minister Simon Birmingham dismissed the comparison.
“This isn’t about keeping a tally or doing things in a tit-for-tat way,” he told Sky News on May 26.
“Yes, Australia has an anti-dumping system that we use. Our decisions are open to appeal through the World Trade Organisation. China has not chosen to do that with any of our decisions to date.”
Senator Birmingham has been trying to speak to his Chinese counterpart about the barley dispute for several weeks.
His phone calls have been ignored.
“That still hasn’t been scheduled and it remains disappointing,” he said.
“The Australian government will always front up to have a conversation, even where we have disagreements. We think the best way to move through those disagreements is to engage in dialogue.”
The minister is weighing up whether to appeal China’s 80 percent tariff on Australian barley at the World Trade Organisation.
China has also suspended beef imports from four Australian abattoirs after the federal government called for a global independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australian primary producers and exporters needed to weigh up the risks of selling into China.
“I think that’s a judgment Australian businesses can only make,” he told the National Press Club in Canberra.
“They have to weigh up the security of the markets in which they sell to and the risks that are associated with those.”
More than half of Australians believe the Chinese government imposed the beef and barley trade sanctions in retaliation for Australia leading calls for the coronavirus investigation.
Two-thirds of respondents to an Essential poll released on Tuesday agreed the Australian government needed to stand up to the Chinese government and demand an open inquiry.
But opinions are divided over how best to respond to the trade dispute.
More than half of the 1087 respondents believe the Australian government needs to do all it can to avoid a trade war with China.
Less than half agreed Australia should impose tariffs on imports from China in retaliation, or Canberra should work towards an agreement with Beijing to remove the tariffs on barley, whatever the conditions.
