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Friday, November 20, 2020

Australia wants Chinese trade but does it by ganging up with Japan-USA against China

finance-twitter:

Australia Hopes RCEP Will Fix Problems With China – But It Gets Worse As Beijing Reveals Three Issues With Canberra


Australia was hoping that by signing the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal on Sunday, it will automatically fix, or at least improve the country’s strained relations with China. If only it was so easy. It would take more than an insignificant deal like RCEP, of which the direct economic benefits are limited, to make the Chinese happy.

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said – “This is an incredibly important agreement in terms of the timing for when it occurs. Australia is a country where one in five jobs relies upon trade, and we know that better access for our farmers and businesses means more jobs for Australians overall.”

Canberra desperately wanted to reset economic relations with Beijing, and Mr Birmingham had openly admitted it. In reality, the RCEP trade deal, signed by China and 14 other Asia-Pacific countries, including the 10-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), is seen as nothing but a move that promotes and elevates China’s political and economic influence in the region.



True, RCEP is essentially the world’s largest trade agreement, covering a massive market of 2.2 billion people and US$26.2 trillion of global output – about 30% of the worldwide population and 30% of global gross domestic product (GDP). In fact, it’s larger than the European Union and United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). But the economic benefits would take years to materialize.

First mooted in 2011, RCEP was aimed at strengthening trade ties between China and others with ASEAN members. It was launched a year later (2012) at a time when the Obama administration was pushing for another major trade pact – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As China was excluded in the TPP, the RCEP was Beijing’s counter to American influence in Asia-Pacific.

Naturally, when Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the TPP in 2017, largely to spite Barack Obama, China did not see the urgency in pushing for RCEP, until now after the defeat of President Trump in his re-election. Joe Biden could revive the TPP, which has since become the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership).



In general, the RCEP deal would lower tariffs and other barriers to the trade of goods among the countries who signed the deal. But there’s a reason why RCEP is called a “very low-grade treaty” that lacks the scope and focus like TPP. For a start, RCEP doesn’t require its members to liberalize their economies and protect labor rights, let alone environmental standards and intellectual property.

Besides, more than 70% of trade among the 10 ASEAN countries are already conducted with zero tariffs. Hence, it’s not an exaggeration to say RCEP is more of a cosmetic deal than a real trade deal. China is driving RCEP but not a member of TPP, while America was driving TPP but not a member of RCEP. Therefore, RCEP and TPP are just a proxy war between China and the U.S.

Mr Birmingham himself described RCEP as a “hugely symbolically significant agreement”. More importantly, he expressed his disappointment that India did not sign the deal – the only country in the grouping with which Australia does not have a free trade deal. Heck, Michele O’Neil, the Australian Council of Trade Unions president, said the Morrison government doesn’t even know if RCEP will create “a single job in Australia”.



As the Australian trade and investment minister tried to pass the ball to China, saying the “ball is in China’s court to come to the table for that dialogue”, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press conference on Nov 17 the three major problems why China-Australia relations are facing difficulties that couldn’t be fixed with RCEP.

First, Beijing accused Canberra of blatantly violating the basic norms of international relations, has time and again made mistakes on issues concerning China’s core interests like Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan. China said its people were hurt when Australia exploited platforms like the Human Rights Council to interfere in its internal affairs.

Second, without evidence, some people in Australia slandered and accused China of engaging in so-called “intervention and infiltration” activities in Australia. Beijing highlighted that Australia was the first in banning Chinese companies from participating in its 5G network and repeatedly prevented Chinese companies from investing in Australia under the guise of “national security”.



Third, Beijing was not impressed that Canberra used the Coronavirus pandemic to engage political manipulation by promoting “independent international inquiry”. This, of course, refers to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s campaign in April, urging top allies France, Germany and New Zealand to pressure China to give the foreign countries the “weapons inspector-like” powers to investigate the outbreaks.

However, China mocked Australia of parroting U.S. President Donald Trump in its call for an inquiry to determine the origins of Covid-19, despite Morrison’s own admission that he had no evidence to suggest the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Only Trump said he was convinced the virus may have originated in the Chinese virology lab.

So in April, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye warned the Morrison government that its dangerous manoeuvre would spark a consumer boycott against Australian goods. Beijing made good on its promise, slapping an 80.5% tariff on all Australian barley grain in May after banning imports from four major Australian beef suppliers, allegedly over labelling issues.



Australia earned A$9.5 billion alone in beef export, followed by non-beef meat (A$5.2 billion). The Chinese imported over 2.5 million tonnes of Australian barley in 2018-19 – more than half of Australian total barley exports. The 80.5% tariff on all Australian barley would cost the industry a whopping A$500 million per annum – a whopping A$2.5 billion over the next 5 years as imposed by Beijing.

Global Times, Beijing’s mouthpiece, warned that China has the power to hurt the Australian economy, but won’t fire the first shot. It then moved on to escalate the trade tensions by imposing new customs inspection procedures on Australian iron ore imports. The Aussie’s iron ore export to China in 2018-19 was worth a jaw-dropping A$63 billion, not to mention A$17 billion of natural gas and A$14 billion of coal.

The next month (June), China targeted the country’s tourism and education sectors. Chinese tourists were advised to stay away from Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, 1.4-million (1,458,500) Chinese tourists visited Australia in the 12 months between December 2018 and November 2019, generating a cool A$12 billion a year in revenue.



In the same month, armed with “racist attacks against Asians” mantra, Beijing warned its students to reconsider plans to study in the country.The threat would punch a hole in the Australian’s A$37.6 billion education businesses. That is on top of a new modelling revealed by the Australian university sector that showed it will lose up to A$16 billion by 2023 due to the impact of Coronavirus.

In October, after China’s customs authorities told local steelmakers and power plants to stop importing Australian coal, dealing a blow to the A$14 billion industry, the A$2 billion cotton industry was targeted. By November, Chinese import agents warned their clients they had been informed that no Australian shipments of wheat, barley, sugar, red wine, timber, wool, lobster and copper ores would be cleared.

The ban on Australian wheat delivered a blow to A$560 million (US$400 million) worth of the agricultural export to China. The Australian fishing industry too was being dragged into the China-Australia trade tensions when its rock lobsters are now being targeted. China accounted for 94% of Australian rock lobster exports worth A$752 million(US$527 million) in 2018-19.



It’s too bad that Australia’s largest trading partner for timber and wood products happens to be China again. The ban would punch another export hole worth a staggering A$1.9 billion. Australian grape and wine industry worth A$1.2 billion in exports to China are also affected with the latest ban. Even sugar was targeted despite it was only worth A$100 million based on last year’s export to China.

In addition to sugar, copper ore also lost its biggest customer as it joined the blacklist of Australian products. Australia is the world’s third-biggest copper exporter and half of its copper goes to China – an export worth A$3.7 billion. The country is still the world’s most China-dependent developed economy, even though it has been seeking to reduce its reliance through trades with other nations.

Still, despite the three critical issues unveiled by Beijing that affects the bilateral relations, PM Scott Morrison defiantly insisted today (Nov 19) that Australia will always set its own laws and its own rules according to the country’s national interests. But trying to force China to surrender to “weapons inspector-like” investigations, as if it was a Saddam Hussein regime, certainly sounds suspicious.



As Morrison stubbornly continues to poke the panda, reaching more joint military operations and exercises with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to push back against China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Australian Trade Minister Birmingham and other ministers still can’t get through on the telephone to their Chinese counterparts. Zhao Lijian made it clear that no truce was in sight with Australia.



31 comments:

  1. 500 yo Bully now got new Pres Biddy, better than 5,000 Bully who will Belt You Down Their Road......then eat you like Chop Suey...see how HK democracy is being murdered.

    First TIPU, (sign Sino-British Handover Agreement), then BULLY (introduce new restrictive laws, then sack opposition politicians, soon will come RAMPAS.....no need to wait till 2047 as "promised".

    RCEP is BULLY's new economic TIPU; like Covid vaccine is the pandemic one, BULLY will follow-up with trade sanctions, warships drawing more dash lines, soon will come the RAMPAS.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. when did HK ever enjoy democracy? Under her colonial British master?

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    2. Another feeder of the katak farts showing its bare ignorance!

      Bravo! Do keep your f*cked understanding of bullying.

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    3. Haiya, when people happy happy make money nothing to complain to gomen then got democracy lah. Today Honkies live in fear....

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    4. "...5,000 Bully who will Belt You Down Their Road"

      Mmm.... chanting endlessly your fav line "will belt you down the road' WITHOUT explaining what it really means ! just a play on empty words which you obviously think are devilishly clever, hoping the dumb and dumber will lap it up to shore up your narrative that China is the supposedly " 5000 yo Bully" ...sorry la, cinakui, we are not impressed, not at all, hehe

      And let's demolish this cinakui further, hehe...how "HK democracy is being murdered" ? It must exist first when under the >100+ years Brits' rule before it got 'murdered' right ? More of your never-ending one-liner....getting tiresome and nauseating.

      And let's check out the rest of your penchant for such sweeping, empty tok kok...how is it a "RAMPAS" when it is Hong Kong that got rampas-ed by the Imperialist Brits and finally this evil empire's grip got loosened when the 'lease' expired, try as it might when that old witch Margaret Thatcher tried to wriggle out of it, hehe

      Cinakui couldn't even get it that the new security laws are supposed to be passed 27 BLOODY YEARS ago and was part and parcel of the handover agreement. Under this new law, secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces are finally enforceable; and those Hong Kong politicians and media tycoon and their young pawn rioters the likes of Nathan Law, Joshua Wong now finally realized that it is indeed traitorous to run off every now and then to Washington to implore US Congress to apply sanctions Hong Kong and China....isn't these the very definition of collusion with foreign forces ?

      These Hong Kong legislators should consider themselves fortunate. During the 1950s, the US had something known as the " House Committee on UnAmerican Activities". People then who were suspected of being Communist sympathizers were subjected to relentless investigation and many lost their jobs, their names would be blacklisted and barred from future employment. Those who were members of the Communist Party or conspired with the Soviet Union to undermine the US government and public morale were arrested and sent to prison for treason. US doesn't mess around when it comes to dealing with disloyal citizens. Go check McCarthyism....

      And let's not even go into subversion and terrorism now. Cinakui won't be able to handle that. He would have to come up with more cleber lines to gloss over the REAL BULLY's atrocities.





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    5. more mature, senior older HK despise the young brats of destroying HK's vibrant livelihood

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    6. "Haiya, when people happy happy make money nothing to complain to gomen then got democracy lah. Today Honkies live in fear.."

      In fear NOW in HK as compared with the time of the HK 废青 riots?

      Making money as compared with the time of the HK 废青 riots?

      U do know fart!

      But what's the difference. The demoNcratized media farts r fragrance that yr petrified neurons like & thus short-circuited itself!

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    7. but pro demo sapu all except one in last year hk local elections, many youth yet qualify to vote so result implied that the mature n older are okay with the brat action, unless yr source is zombie daily or hu propagandist times, then of course the interpretation could be diff.

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    8. 1st before u fart, check the % of votes vis-a-vis HK qualified registered voter population.

      Pro-demoN 56.87%

      Pro-Beijing 41.89%

      Stayed at home 29%

      犬养mfer, goes get quick helps from 台毒水炮 & uses yr petrified neurons to justified that HKers were OK with the riots of HK 废青!

      Spread more farts lah!

      No thanks to the multi rounds of Anti-epidemic Fund. Especially the One-off cash payout of HK$10,000 to each Hong Kong Permanent resident aged 18 or above.

      These HK 废青 have discovered a free handout! Thus, "the the mature n older are okay with the brat action".

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    9. It is untrue to claim that the older generation in Hong Kong support Beijing hegemony.

      The true Red Beijing supporters tend to be the Very Rich Master-Class supporting the CCP controlled establishment to protect their wealth, and the opposite extreme of Riff Raff and Deplorables benefiting off CCP Dedak.

      The majority of all ages in the middle now understands the threat of CCP Authoritarianism and the destruction of Hong Kong's independent Legal system.

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    10. 56.87% r all youth? 41.89% r all apek? yr point is.....to argue for sake of arguing?

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    11. Old moneyed mfer, first talk to some knowledgeable HKers about that 4 bloodsucking heavenly landlords of HK then u fart.

      Then check the population statistics about wealth & age distribution of HK then AGAIN u fart!

      Arithmetic might not be yr best, but simple comparison with numbers should throw u some light. Is it too much? Or yr moneyed fortune is indeed yr grandfather's legacy.

      Remember, fortune likes yrs never last through 3rd generation!

      犬养mfer, when r u ever good at interpreting numbers?

      Coupling with yr 南魔萬England comprehension, r u parading yr f*cked understanding of knowing thing yet just cloak?

      Wakakakakaka…

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    12. u didnt provide any answer n analysis, just copypaste result, i stated my conclusion, tell me yours if u disagree, not with copypaste some percentage number n talk abt my england, that sound so amateurish.

      in msia, those involve in biz n govt tend to support the power that be, doesnt mean they r old n mature, just that their wealth n fortone hook up with the incumbent govt, n they r not the majority, i believe the same case happened in hk by looking at the election result.

      now yt turn, dun tok3tok4 tokearthtoksky, stick to topic, n pls behave like a old n mature wakaka.

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    13. What answers that a know-nothing can understand?

      I have shown all the official voting statistics & yet u still can't fathom the data. Still want to prove yr know-nothing - arguing for the sake of arguing!

      "pro demo sapu all except one in last year hk local elections"

      !!!

      Sapu all based ONLY on 56.87% of the total vote casted! Yet u dared to claim "the mature n older are okay with the brat action"!

      Mfer, what happened to the other 41.89%?

      Bearing in mind the voters turned out is just ONLY 71% of the total registered voters count!

      More so as u claimed these r all apek!

      What about those stayed at home 29%? R they transparent? Since they didn't voted, their opinions don't count?

      In yr demoNcratic dogma it's known as gerrymandering & electoral disproportionality!

      Moreover, it happens in a claimed authoritarian regime, to favour the demoNcratic dickheads.

      Just this last fact, all yr spurious China bashings r totally & completely been disproved!

      U r not ONLY amateurish, u r just 死鸡撑饭盖, diex2 want to prove yr know-nothing!

      Who's tok3tok4 tokearthtoksky?

      Perhaps, u have continuously thinking that spot of light above yr well is the sun u read about in that fart filled well!

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    14. tbh i dun know what u talking abt, is that a respond to my challenge or just toking to yrself? but at least the latter is a symptom of getting old, thought not mature wakaka.

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    15. Wakakakakakaka…

      Tok3tok4tokearthtoksky to hide yr know-nothing embarrassment!

      Getting old?

      At what age?

      Yrs!

      Delete

  2. Hungary has 80% of her export to EU. She is heavily dependent on EU's financial mercy.

    Thus, EU exercises her big mama sticks to warn Hungary:

    1)that it cannot close its borders to all foreigners and allow only its own citizens back in.

    2)Hungary goes against EU guidance to order Russia's COVID-19 vaccine.

    3)The European Union warned Hungary on Tuesday that emergency measures adopted by its nationalist government to fight the coronavirus crisis must not undercut democracy.

    If Hungary doesn't toe the lines as demanded EU won't hesitate to punish Hungary economically.

    Could anyone see the parallel drama vis-a-vis China/Oz trade relationship here?

    Or this is a case of DemoNcratic mfers can play whatever games they want BUT refuse to accept similar treatments under opposite force!

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  3. Replies
    1. Who starts RCEP?

      So a 5 chaffed ASEAN nations can & have the ability to setup a bullytrap to entice their trade tormentors!

      Been infested with know-nothing yet still want to prove it?

      Delete
  4. its ccp that blow how great is rcep, i only know now after reading stupid twat rcep is such a useless deal.

    but i know when the subject is turned to emperor xi, ah twat will do a reverse n start to blow how rcep help make xi the greatest emperor, overtake emperor qin, emperor han, n emperor mao.

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    Replies
    1. Wakakakakakaka…

      Know-nothing trying to interpret issues that just come to its mind!

      China doesn't necessarily need RCEP, unlike all those other signatories. But it doesn't hurt geopolitically.

      Just remember, China has huge positive trade balances with ALL the other members of RCEP.

      Maybe by opening her internal market to them, that katak infested Formosa can finally eat dirts. It could be another stab to de-katak-ised that island.

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    2. joker, y u always argue something already happened n become known fact, not necessary then no need join la, bodoh punya ccp propagandist wakaka.

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    3. Then 犬养mfer what r u farting about?

      That's propagandas?

      U do know-nothing hence this one-liner fart!

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  5. CCP wants USA Trade ( CCP biggest export Customer) but is building up a huge arsenal of USA Aircraft-carrier killer missiles.

    Why Finance-twitter never ask that question?

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    Replies
    1. defence but why Oz goes on offensive with Japan, China's most despised enemy?

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    2. defence. The only way for small states like Australia and Japan to face up to CCP Bullying is through alliances.

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    3. Truly an old moneyed mfer of know-nothing!

      China's total exports with the 6 Asia trading partners (Viet, S'pore, M'sia, HK, Japan & SKorea increased to $739.3B. The bloc accounted for 29.5% of China's overall trade for the period in 2020.

      China is currently the United States' 3rd largest goods trading partner with US$418.6B (16.8%) during 2019 & decreasing.

      Read carefully of that article & ask yrself what question to fart!

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    4. Truly know-nothing CCP Zombie, bullshting about "blocs"

      Here's the breakdown by individual countries.

      All dwarfed by the gigantic size of the USA market.

      Japan: $143.2 billion (5.7%)
      South Korea: $111 billion (4.4%)
      Vietnam: $98 billion (3.9%)

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    5. So can u read through the dollar sign screen?

      RCEP is about bloc economy co-operation!

      NZ, Oz, katak infested Formosa etc r not included, though r classified within the bloc.

      Only an old moneyed mfer would put all its egg into one basket! Just like how Oz's economy is so tightly tied to export earning to China.

      China administrators r too smart for our kind of thinking!

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