https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55328102
Trade relations between China and Australia worsen as Australia finally responds to China’s outrageous tariff on barely. Australia decided to appeal to the World Trade Organization just this last Wednesday, due to the growing frustration over the eighty percent tax on barley, imposed by the Chinese government. For some time now China has put restrictions on many important exports from the Australian. Considering the fact that China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, the drastic increase in tariffs has been detrimental to their economy. Australia’s response has unsurprisingly caused an uprising in tensions between the two. The Australian trading prime minister spoke out about the situation, saying that it was the “appropriate next step”.
I think that this turn of events is disappointing but unsurprising, in reference to China’s increased aggression on the trading front. I believe that it is logical for Australia to appeal to the WTO with the extremity of the tariffs on a wide range of items such as wine, dairy, meat, and of course barley. It is worrying that China is causing such trading problems for Australia because they could possibly continue this behavior to other countries, making it a worldwide problem. China is known to be a difficult trading partner and they are leaving up to their reputation with these aggressions towards Australia.
This trading issue between the two countries can definitely be analyzed from a realist perspective. As China continues to make trading difficult for important partners, they are showing their dominance in the region as well as worldwide. As well, their actions are solely for their own benefit and clearly are not focused on mutually beneficial agreements. China is flexing two main types of power in terms of military normally but in this specific case, economically. I think that China is well on its way to changing polarity in the international system from its current unipolar system to one of Bi-Polarity or Multi-Porality.