The move is being seen by many as a step to refute Australia's claims that China is engaging in ‘economic coercion’ and is waging a trade war with Australia. Canberra has accused China over using ‘economic coercion’ to stop its goods from entering the country, and even pushing for a World Trade Organisation probe into China's anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wines, a leading government-controlled Chinese newspaper reported.

While Australian wool accounted for at least 80 per cent of China's wool imports, Chinese companies previously sorted to diversify their sources of supplies to secure the supply chain.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)