China’s Ambassador in Canberra, Cheng Jingye, accused Australia of economic coercion, which resulted in the deterioration of ties between the two countries, Bloomberg reported, citing a transcript.
Key comments
“If there is any coercion, it must have to be done by the Australian side,”
“What China has done is only aimed to uphold its legitimate rights and interests, prevent bilateral ties from further plunging and move them back onto the right track.”
The response comes days after Australia’s Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo told his staff that “in a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beat.” Although he refrained from mentioning China, he said, “free nations were watching “worryingly the militarization of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war.”
Market reaction
The latest Sino-Australian spat is ignored by the aussie, as AUD/USD keeps gains around 0.7775, as of writing.