According to Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA), Beijing has issued a note to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicating that Australia may now resume exports of Australian lobsters to China. Lobsters were the last Australian export subject to trade restriction by China, which means the four-year China-Australia trade war has come to an end. The trade war started in 2020 when former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly called for efforts to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 virus, provoking a strong reaction from Beijing.
Albanese said that Beijing’s decision has opened the door for Australian exporters to once again supply “the best lobster in the world” to Chinese market. China’s trade export restrictions on Australia, affecting about AU$20 billion (US$12.5 billion) in trade, are now completely ended. The restrictions once included wine, barley, coal, cotton, logs, oat hay, copper ore and red meat.
China began to gradually lift trade restrictions on Australia after Anthony Albanese took over as Australia’s Prime Minister in 2022. Prior to lifting its restriction on Australian lobsters, Beijing lifted a restriction on red meat exports on December 3, 2024.
Source: CNA, December 21, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202412210040.aspx