China uses trade as weapon to silence virus criticism

Trying to silence criticism over the coronavirus pandemic, China is deploying a well-used weapon trade sanctions.

Beijing has blocked some imports of Australian beef after Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government, endorsed by Washington, called for a robust inquiry into the origins of the outbreak and rebuffed Chinese demands to back off.

The move is the first time Beijing has used access to its huge markets as leverage in its campaign to deflect blame for the outbreak. But it has used the tactic regularly against governments from Norway to Canada in political disputes over the past decade.

What China is really doing is sending a political shot across the bows, said Peter Jennings, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank. They're saying to Australia: 'Don't make a fuss about an open and independent investigation.'
He said Australia draws clear lines on certain issues And those things are not to be traded, ever."