Australia attacks China's policy of economic punishment at the WTO, accuses it of contravening rules

Australian diplomats have used a regular international review of China's trade policies to blast Beijing's campaign of economic punishment against Australia, warning its behaviour could drive away trading partners and undermine international confidence in China.

In an unusually forceful statement, Australia's representative to the World Trade Organisation, George Mina, said China had "increasingly tested global trade rules" with its behaviour and that Australia was one of "numerous WTO members" who had faced disruptive measures from the Chinese government.

Mr Mina said that China's tactics included "arbitrary border inspections", "unwarranted delays" on import licences and "the imposition of unjustified anti-dumping and countervailing duties" which had "severely limited or ended" trade across more than a dozen Australian commodities.

"The implications of China's actions go beyond their impact on Australian exporters — they raise the risk and uncertainty of the China market for the global business community," his statement reads.

Mr Mina also explicitly accused China of imposing the restrictions on Australian goods in retaliation for political disputes, saying there was a "growing body of evidence" that its actions were "motivated by political considerations.".

He quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who earlier this year said that Australia would not be able to "reap benefits" from doing business with China while "groundlessly accusing and smearing China.".

Jeffrey Wilson from the Perth USAsia Centre said Australian officials were using the WTO Trade Policy Review to target China's grey-zone trade punishments by "calling a spade a spade" in a "classic name and shame campaign.".

"By re-framing this as being about China's behaviour as a rule-abiding member of the global economy, it allows Australia to marshal an international coalition against its coercive trade practices.".