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China is lifting a stifling 3-year-old tariff on Australian barley starting Saturday a sign of an improving bilateral trade relationship since Australia's government changed. China effectively closed its door to Australian barley in May 2020 by imposing an 80.5 per cent tariff after the previous Australian government angered Beijing by calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of, and responses to, the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, both governments confirmed the resumption of trade in the grain that was worth 916 million Australian dollars (USD 602 million) in the year before China blocked imports. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the breakthrough, which comes as he plans his first visit to Beijing as government leader before the end of the year. This is a very positive decision, Albanese told reporters. When Albanese's government was elected in May 2022, he demanded Beijing drop a series of official and unofficial trade barriers against Australian ..