China baulks at meeting on beef and barley

China has ignored Australia’s attempts to discuss trade tensions over beef and barley imports.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham confirmed his Chinese counterpart had not responded to requests for the talks.

‘‘We have not secured said meeting yet. I would hope that would be forthcoming,’’ Senator Birmingham told parliament yesterday.

Western Australia fears it could become the meat in the sandwich as the trade tangle with China heats up.

Premier Mark McGowan has urged conservative politicians to tone down their inflammatory rhetoric.

‘‘Some federal Liberal MPs from Western Australia have been very hostile with some of our trading relationships,’’ he told state parliament.

‘‘We need to ensure we have balanced commentary and a balanced approach to these issues to ensure that our citizens aren’t collateral damage.’’

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is also skittish about the stoush.

‘‘China is an incredibly important trading partner to Queensland – most of our trade goes to China,’’ she told reporters. ‘‘Trade means jobs.’’ Australian relations with China have been heavily strained since Scott Morrison began pushing for a global coronavirus.

Beijing’s ambassador warned China could boycott Australian produce if the prime minister persisted.

China has since blacklisted four Australian abattoirs and threatened to slap an 80 per cent tariff on barley imports.

Eighteen per cent of Australia’s beef production is shipped to China, with exports worth more than A$3 billion (NZ$3.2b) a year.

The four meatworks involved account for more than a third of Australian beef exports. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said customs officers had detected repeated violations of inspection and quarantine requirements by a few Australian beef export companies.

‘‘China has decided to suspend, effective immediately, processing four Australian companies’ import declarations for meat products,’’ he said.

‘‘The Chinese side has asked the Australian side to conduct a thorough investigation to find the cause and address the issue.’’

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann insisted the trade issues were not linked to the push for a coronavirus inquiry.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said people should not be spooked by the trade tensions.

Mr Willox said the Australian government needed to find ways to make the relationship work. – inquiry into