China's imports from Australia down by 4.9% from Jan to Nov amid trade, political tussles
Global Times
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China's trade with Australia declined further in November amid soured political ties — the two countries' bilateral trade declined 0.9 percent in the first 11 months of the year, Chinese customs data showed on Monday.

Aerial photo taken on Oct. 31, 2020 shows a view of Yulin Xiangdao International Logistics Park in Yulin City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Since the operation in June of 2019, Xiangdao International Logistics Park has sent 16.87 million tonnes of goods, among which 96 percent were coal. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

What's more, China's imports from Australia dropped by 4.9 percent from January to November, but exports surged by 9.4 percent year-on-year.

In the first 10 months of the year, China's imports from Australia fell by 6.1 percent year-on-year.

The data came as bilateral ties sank to a decades low and reports that some Australian export products, including millions of tons of coal and tons of lobsters, are stranded at Chinese customs due to quality issues.

China has slapped an 80 percent tariff on Australia barley after anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations and has taken provisional anti-dumping measures on Australian wine.

Several major beef exporters have been blacklisted due to quality issues.

Song Wei, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that China's imports of Australian products have been declining since June.

"The decline in imports are a direct result of recent trade tussles between China and Australia, but we see Chinese exports continue to post growth due to their advantages in prices and quality," Song told the Global Times on Monday.