Australia is a stable, democratic and culturally diverse nation with a highly skilled workforce and one of the strongest performing economies in the world.
The Australian Government is very concerned by incidents last week where China’s coast guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine vessels seeking to resupply Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has established a dispute settlement panel in the next phase of the dispute settlement process over anti-dumping duties imposed by China on Australian wine.
Australia will defend the interests of Australian wine makers by taking action in the World Trade Organization over China's imposition of anti-dumping duties on Australian wine.
The Australian Government will ask the World Trade Organization to establish a dispute settlement panel to resolve concerns about anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on Australian barley by China.
The Australian and New Zealand Governments today reiterate their grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
The Australian Government has been advised that Australian citizen Ms Cheng Lei was formally arrested in China on 5 February, after 6 months of detention.
