Abstract:
From 2020 to 2022, China imposed restrictions on Australian imports after Canberra's inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and a ban on Huawei's 5G network. Canberra was able to resist the pressure campaign by rerouting exports to new markets. However, as a compromise, Australia suspended its barley and wine cases against China in the WTO. Using publicly available sources, this case study examines trade restrictions China imposed on Australia in 2020-2022 as well as their gradual easing in 2023-2024, analyzes Beijing's motivations and objectives, and explains lessons learned for other smaller economies with high trade dependence on China.
