Australian Prime Minister: China has agreed to lift lobster import restrictions

Australian Prime Minister Albanese and Chinese Premier Li have agreed to reinstate the lobster trade between the two countries by the end of the year. This comes as a significant development in the improvement of China-Australia relations, following China's imposition of punitive tariffs and sanctions on Australian exports worth 20 billion Australian dollars in 2020 in retaliation for Australia's ban on Huawei and calls for an independent investigation into the new coronavirus. The lifting of trade restrictions has seen a notable increase in the export volume of other Australian commodities like wine and barley.

Albanese said: "I am pleased to announce that Premier Li and I have agreed on a timetable for the full resumption of lobster trade by the end of this year." "Through our patient, cautious and prudent approach, we have restored trade between Australia and our largest export market. Today we are discussing the restart of the export of live rock lobsters from Australia." In 2020, then Australian Prime Minister Morrison banned Huawei from participating in the construction of Australia's 5G network on the grounds of maintaining national security, and called for an independent international traceability investigation of the new coronavirus. In response, China imposed punitive tariffs, sanctions and informal bans on Australian exports worth 20 billion Australian dollars, including agricultural products such as wine, beef, lobster, barley, as well as commodities such as coal, copper and timber. After the new Australian government came to power in May 2022, China-Australia relations ...