Australian farmers have called on the Morrison government to “nurture” the trading relationship with China after wine became the latest agricultural export to be targeted by Beijing.
Amid fears that the dispute could widen further, the National Farmers’ Federation told Guardian Australia it had no reason to believe the Chinese government was about to expand its trade investigations beyond Australian barley, red meat and wine.
But the federation’s chief executive officer, Tony Mahar, added: “In the event that this did happen however, it would be important, as with barley, red meat and now wine, that each issue was treated in isolation and on its merits.”
Mahar argued that the government and industry needed to “do all we can to keep the dialogue open between our two nations” – noting that the trading relationship between Australia and China was vast and diverse.
“As a nation we must continue to nurture and advance these relationships whether it be the export of agricultural commodities, minerals, tourism or education,” he said.
Wool, cotton, grain, dairy, seafood and horticulture are among Australia’s top agricultural exports to China. The call to nurture the relationship follows a decision by China’s commerce ministry on Tuesday to investigate allegations that Australian wine had been “dumped” into the Chinese market at artificially low prices.
With Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, revealing he had still been unable to secure talks with his Chinese counterpart despite months of requests, Mahar welcomed the government’s pledge to keep trying.
Despite the tensions, Mahar said the China-Australia free trade agreement, which entered into force in 2015, would “continue to provide benefits for Australia exporters, including farmers and equally, Chinese consumers for many, many years to come”.
The deal had contributed to a 30% increase in agricultural exports since its inception, he said, so “there is no question of the value of the agreement”.
Scott Morrison attempted to appeal to the Chinese government on Wednesday, saying the relationship was “a mutually beneficial one” and that “China benefits from the high-quality products and services that we provide”.
The prime minister played down the immediate impact of the wine announcement, noting that the investigation could last up to 18 months.
While the government would work with the industry to contest the dumping claims, he said it would “never trade away our sovereignty in Australia on any issue”.
“We will be consistent, we will be clear, we will be respectful and we will get on with the business,” the prime minister said.
But Labor’s agriculture spokesperson, Joel Fitzgibbon, accused Morrison of being “to blame” for the deteriorating relationship. Fitzgibbon said the government had caused unnecessary offence to China by calling for a global Covid-19 inquiry “when there was always going to be an inquiry”.
“You know, it’s a big gorilla,” Fitzgibbon said in a radio interview with 2CC on Wednesday. “It’s our major trading partner, our largest export market, and it’s angry and it’s going to punish us.”
China’s foreign ministry argued the anti-dumping investigation followed a complaint from the Chinese wine industry in July and would be carried out “in a legal, fair and just manner”.
At a regular press briefing the spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said a sound and stable relationship was in both countries’ interests “but it calls for the joint efforts of both sides”.
When asked whether it was a coincidence that the investigation came several months after the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, said people might reconsider drinking Australian wine if relations soured, he replied: “This is a normal anti-dumping investigation. There’s no need to read too much into it.”
