At his inaugural address, Joe Biden had said, “We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example. We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.” The newly elected President had also taken to Twitter to resoundingly announce “America is back!” to the world. Today, six months after the man entered the White House, the world community as a whole is regretting having an American president like Joe Biden. In its endeavour to woo China, the Biden administration has dumped Australia.
Under the Biden administration, Washington is prioritising its own economic interests over its ally – Australia, despite repeated promises by US politicians, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken offering to stand with Australia against economic coercion from Beijing. Here’s what’s happening. For the past one and a half years, China and Australia have been embroiled in a tense economic and trade war. Since April last year, China has imposed tariffs and other trade barriers and even unofficial restrictions on a range of Australian goods like coal, barley, wine and wheat. Among the items barred is beef, and it is here where the Biden administration has backstabbed Canberra.
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Australia has traditionally exported more frozen beef to China, but since April its exports have plunged, with the gap between the two widenings quickly in favour of the US. According to the South China Morning Post, in April, the US shipped US$68 million worth of frozen beef to China compared to US$80 million from Australia, according to Chinese customs. In May, trade patterns reversed and the US had shipped US$90 million of frozen beef to China compared to Australia’s US$47 million. Finally, Australian exports of frozen beef crashed last month to US$35 million, while the U.S.’ exports hit a historic high of US$107 million.
The values of US frozen beef exports to China between April and July this year were between 8 and 18 times higher than their corresponding months last year. At a time when the U.S. should have been supporting Australia and uplifting whatever deficits the down under country is facing due to the trade war with China, the Biden administration has occupied itself with milking the Sino-Australian conflict to its own benefit.
Due to this, China’s economic campaign against Australia is succeeding. The U.S. should have starved China of the beef it so desperately wants. That’s what would have been the right thing to do as a friend of Australia’s. However, Joe Biden and his lackeys seem hellbent on prostrating before CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping. The Biden administration is simply profiteering out of Australia’s losses, and for that, it should be ashamed of itself. The U.S. should seriously introspect, as it is fast losing its claim to the title of the “leader of the free world order” due to the disastrous team which is in charge of the White House.
China may have forced the Biden administration’s hand at making its ongoing trade war with Australia somewhat painful for Canberra. So far, what China has achieved is rather minuscule. There was only a $6 billion drop in Australian exports to China, that is, a mere 4 per cent fall as against the 2019 numbers. As per the data released by Beijing’s customs agency, Australia exported goods worth $148 billion ($US114.8 billion) to China last year. This is a small decline against the record level of exports worth $154 billion ($US119.6 billion) set in 2019. Additionally, in contrast to rising Australian exports to China – of items as crucial as iron ore – Australian investments in China have gone down by a whopping 25 per cent over the past year.
The Biden administration’s backstabbing, however, really gives an edge to China. Needless to say, Australia will remember this betrayal forever.