China's taxes and bans on Australian goods prompted its trade minister Simon Birmingham on Wednesday to accuse the country of going against "the spirit" of its trade agreements.
"The targeted nature of Chinese government measures on Australian goods raises concerns about China's adherence to the letter and spirit of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and WTO obligations," the minister told Australia's senate.
In response to accusations of human rights violations made by Australian Prime Minister Scot Morrison last month, China instituted a range of formal and informal bans on Australian exports ranging from iron and beef to coal and wine.
"Looking back on China-Australia relations in the past few years, we see some people in Australia adhering to a Cold War mentality and...regarding China's development as a threat," Chinese Foreign Ministry representative Zhao Lijian said mid-November before announcing the trade sanctions.
The agreement was introduced in December 2015 after more than a decade of negotiations. At the time, both countries agreed to discuss revisions every five years - the first of which would have been this year - but China has been unwilling to discuss amendments according to Birmingham.
"The Australian government is considering all dispute settlement options in order to support our exporters," the Australian minister said Wednesday.
Even as political ties between the countries continue to deteriorate, trade has never been better. Chinese exports to Australia rose more than 20% in November and imports from Australia grew nearly 10% compared with 2019 according to data released by the government this week.
Still, Australia's government is preparing for the worst and has made steps to separate from its largest export market.
A digital economy agreement between Australia and Singapore launched Wednesday "provides more digital trade opportunities for business in both countries," according to a statement released by the trade minister's office.
"This ambitious digital trade deal...will prevent unnecessary data localization requirements, including for the financial services sector and forced technology transfers which can stifle trade and investment flows," Birmingham said.
Likewise, the recent implementation of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership between 15 Asia-Pacific nations was a coup for Chinese trade prospects and united the country with South Korea and Japan in a trade agreement for the first time.
