Vol. 1 (2026)

Cases and Insights

How to Withstand China’s Economic Coercion: The Case of China’s Economic Pressure Campaign Against Australia, 2020–2024

Published 2026-05-19

  • Maia Nikoladze

Maia Nikoladze
Atlantic Council (United States)

Journal of Geoeconomics Cover

Abstract

From 2020 to 2022, China imposed restrictions on Australian imports after Canberra’s inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and a ban on Huawei’s 5G network. Canberra was able to resist the pressure campaign by rerouting exports to new markets. However, as a compromise, Australia suspended its barley and wine cases against China in the WTO. Using publicly available sources, this case study examines trade restrictions China imposed on Australia in 2020–2022 as well as their gradual easing in 2023–2024, analyzes Beijing’s motivations and objectives, and explains lessons learned for other smaller economies with high trade dependence on China.

Keywords

Economic coercion, trade restrictions, market diversification, economic statecraft, geoeconomics, China, Australia

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Author Biography

Maia Nikoladze

Maia Nikoladze is an Associate Director at the Atlantic Council’s Economic Statecraft Initiative within the GeoEconomics Center.

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