Australian government rejects claim that it is unsafe to visit or study in Australia (File)
Sydney:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not be intimidated or coerced when asked on Thursday whether Australia would continue to hit exports from its main trading partner, China.
Diplomatic tensions between China and Australia escalated after Australia called for an international investigation into the source and spread of the coronavirus, which angered Beijing.
Last month, the World Health Assembly voted in favor of an independent review of the pandemic after Australia and the European Union lobbied.
China’s Education Ministry said on Tuesday that students should reconsider their choice to study in Australia, threatening Australia’s fourth largest export industry, international education, worth $ 38 billion a year. Australian dollars ($ 26 billion).
“We are an open trade nation, buddy, but I will never trade our values in response to duress wherever it comes from,” Morrison said on 2GB radio on Thursday.
In recent weeks, China has banned imports of Australian beef and imposed tariffs on Australian barley.
The warning for students followed a similar warning last week from Beijing for Chinese tourists to avoid Australia.
In both cases, officials in Beijing said the warnings were due to racist attacks on Asians during the pandemic.
“This is garbage. It is a ridiculous claim and it is rejected. It is not a statement that has been made by the Chinese leadership,” Morrison said in a separate interview on 3AW.
Australia has filed a protest with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing and the Chinese Embassy in Canberra regarding warnings about travel and students to China, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Australian government has rejected the claim that it was not safe to visit or study in Australia, according to a statement.
“Australia provides the best educational and tourism products in the world,” Morrison said at 2 GB. “The possibility for Chinese nationals to choose to come to Australia (a) was essentially their decision. And I am very confident in the attractiveness of our product. “
The coalition representing Australia’s elite universities, the Group of Eight, has said that international education “is being used as a political pawn”.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth 235 billion Australian dollars per year.
($ 1 = 1.4347 Australian dollars)
(Report from Kirsty Needham)
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
