CHINA has placed temporary export bans on as many as six beef processing plants in Australia. There have been allegations the bans are in retaliation to deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop’s comments last week over freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. One meat processor has confirmed the temporary ban to The Weekly Times….
Category: Foreign affairs
Australia to provide funding to help Indonesia boost tourism, create 10 new Balis
Australia to provide funding to help Indonesia boost tourism, create 10 new Balis Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia has emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to try and help boost tourism in Indonesia. On Monday, Paul Grigson said Australia would be providing funding through the World Bank to help create 10 new Balis. That commitment reportedly dominated…
China bans exports from another Australian dairy milk group
THE regulatory minefield Australian companies must navigate to export agricultural goods to China has caught out another dairy company, with global giant Parmalat slapped with a suspension of its fresh milk licence. Just days after infant milk formula group Bellamy’s had its crucial licence to export milk powder to China suspended without warning, Parmalat has…
Concerns for biosecurity risks as raw prawn imports resume
INDUSTRY leaders fear the Government has bowed to foreign pressure and rushed a decision to resume raw prawn imports from 7th July , exposing the country to further biosecurity risks. Raw prawn imports were suspended for six months on January 6 as an outbreak of white spot disease spread through farms on the Logan River,…
Australia lifts ban on Vietnam raw shrimp
Australia has lifted the ban it imposed in January on uncooked Vietnamese shrimp products. Vietnamese companies may resume importing raw prawns caught in Australia for processing and export them to Australia for consumption. The department “will be accepting permit applications for uncooked Australian wild caught prawns exported to Vietnam for processing and re-imported into Australia…
Bellamy’s suffers blow as China suspends export licence of new canning facility
Infant formula maker Bellamy’s shares are in a trading halt – after Chinese authorities decided to suspend the export licence of its newly-acquired subsidiary. The subsidiary in the firing line is Camperdown Powder Pty Ltd, a Victorian blending and canning facility, in which Bellamy’s purchased a 90 per cent indirect stake for $28.5 million. In…
Chinese government trade bank may get mortgage over Darwin port
The Chinese owner of the Port of Darwin is using the port as security to seek a $500 million loan from the Chinese government’s trade bank.Private Chinese company Landbridge is seeking the loan from the Chinese government’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to prop up the firm’s ailing Australian operations, which include an $880,000 yearly consulting fee…
Chinese influence in Darwin school ‘not a concern’ for NT Government
The Northern Territory Government is unconcerned about Chinese Government control over a language and culture course at a Darwin School, the NT Education Minister says. Chinese Government agency the Confucius Institute opened its first language and culture course in the Northern Territory at Woodroffe Primary School on Wednesday. “The [Confucius] classroom funding comes from a…
Chinese billionaire buys Sydney’s Exchange Centre
One of China’s largest toy manufacturers, Chinese – Hong Kong billionaire Francis Choi, has emerged as the likely buyer of the Exchange Centre in Bridge St, Sydney. The near $340 million deal has sent shockwaves through the office market in Australia. The Guangdong Province native is a self-made billionaire who opened his first factory in…
Mega-developments in Sydney and QLD attracts Chinese scrutiny
Billion-dollar hotel developments in Sydney and Queensland, a shareholding in Virgin Australia, and the Australia’s biggest cinema chain will come under the scrutiny of Chinese regulators trying to rein in a US$215 billion ($284 billion) overseas buying spree by Chinese companies. Dalian Wanda, headed by China’s richest man Wang Jialin, is among four Chinese companies…
Chinese -only Gold Coast Liberal National Party Branch gets mixed reception
A CHINESE-only branch of the Liberal National Party has formed on the Gold Coast, dividing the party faithful. The Gold Coast LNP Chinese Heritage Branch has just held its first meeting, with dozens of members joining several sitting MPs for the inauguration. The new branch comes just weeks after the launch of a similar splinter…
China hits out at ABC, Fairfax over joint report on China’s influence in Australia
China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, has hit out at the ABC and Fairfax over a joint Four Corners report on China’s influence in Australia. He said at an Australia China Business Council networking day in Parliament House in Canberra that the report’s producers aimed to “instigate China panic”. Chinese ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye….
