BLUF

This article claims that China’s ‘trade war’ with Australia is starting to backfire on China and could be good for Australia in the long term.

Summary

Ian Verrender argues that in his opinion, China's ongoing trade war with Australia is starting to backfire on China. Verrender reminds us of a saying attributed to Sun Tzu:'Never start a war unless you know you can win'.* And China, Verrender argues, is not achieving what it set out to do, i.e. punish Australia' by undermining its economy. No one can deny the China-Australia relationship is currently in a bad place, but 'much to the chagrin of Beijing' (as Verrender puts it), Australian trade is booming—and that's despite the economically crippling global pandemic. Verrender argues that China's economic punishment of Australia could end up being a blessing in disguise. He says the trade war has forced Australian exporters to look for alternative markets (which they have done quite successfully). In the long term, the trade war with China will benefit Australia by reducing its reliance on trade with China.

*Attributed to Sun Tzu, Section X Terrain, maxim 23. 

Learn more about China’s trade war with Australia.

References

RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC |