Ministry says duties on Australia wine justified

Beijing said on F riday that the country’s antidumping measures on Australian wine impor ts are in line with Chinese laws and regulations as well as international practice, and it urged Canberra to do more to enhance mutual trust.

Starting Saturda y, impor ters of Australian wine are required to pay tariffs ranging from 107.1 percent to 212.1 percent, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

After receiving a request from domestic industr y representatives, the ministr y launched antidumping in vestigations into the products, according to a statement from the ministry on Aug 18.

“The measures are taken out of a sense of responsibilit y for domestic industries and C hinese consumers,” F oreign M inistry spokesman Zhao Li jian said at a regular news conference.

Zhao said Australia should abide by the principle of mutual respect and equality when handling its relationship with China.

He also urged Canberra to do more to adhere to the spirit of the ChinaAustralia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, create conditions for bilateral pragmatic cooperation and help put ties back on the right track.

The antidumping measures come as tensions continue to ramp up between Beijing and Canberra.

China is Australia’s largest twoway trading partner in goods and services, Australia’ s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. Australia had the largest share of China’ s imported wine market at 37 percent, according to data for the 12 months through May from Global Trade Atlas and cited by Wine Australia in an Aug 4 report.