US backs Australia in trade disputes with China

WASHINGTON: The United States is ‘‘closely monitoring’’ trade tensions between Australia and China and will support Canberra in addressing China’s stateled, nonmarket practices, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has told her Australian counterpart.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement following Tai’s meeting with Australian Trade

Minister Dan Tehan said yesterday that the ministers agreed to continue working to develop a digital trade policy addressing the needs of workers and recognised ‘‘the importance of collaboration among those with open, free, democratic systems’’.

China responded by saying the US should correct its mistakes instead of making baseless comments. US comments were wrong, and the tensions in China and Australia relations were caused by Australia's interference in Chinese internal affairs, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

Trade tensions between Australia and China, already rocky after Australia banned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G wireless network in 2018, worsened since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid19, which was first reported in central China last year.

China, Australia’s largest trading partner, responded by imposing tariffs on Australian wine and barley and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes — moves described by the US as ‘‘economic coercion’’.

Australia last month challenged the wine duties at the World Trade Organisation.

In May, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China ‘‘has always held that healthy and stable ChinaAustralia relations are in the fundamental interests of both countries’’.

But Zhao added that the responsibility for the decline in relations between the two countries was ‘‘not at all China’s’’ and that Australia should treat China with ‘‘objectivity’’ and ‘‘rationality’’.