Loading ...Australia asks China to explain ‘economic coercion’ threat in coronavirus row
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia has asked the Chinese ambassador to explain his “threats of economic coercion” in response to Canberra’s push for an international inquiry into the source and spread of the coronavirus.
Australia’s call for a probe into the pandemic, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has angered China, its largest trading partner, following a couple of years of diplomatic tension.
Cheng Jingye, Beijing’s ambassador to Australia, told a newspaper on Monday that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian beef, wine, tourism and universities in response.