‘Reject Chinese imports’: Companies are urged to ditch Chinese suppliers and spurn the ‘communist regime’ to broaden their horizons and protect supply chains
- Companies encouraged to ditch Chinese suppliers protect supply chains
- Many Aussie businesses saw major disruption to supply due to COVID-19 crisis
- Accounting network Kelly+Partners told clients to find more reliable suppliers
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Australian companies are being encouraged to ditch Chinese suppliers to reduce the risk to supply chains as trade tensions escalate.
Brett Kelly, chief executive of ASX-listed accounting network Kelly+Partners, has called on his clients to look for alternative suppliers for manufactured and primary products.
He said many of his clients experienced major disruption to supply during the coronavirus pandemic, which saw countries forced into lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Australian companies have been urged to ditch Chinese suppliers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (pictured is Kmart’s legendary $29 pie maker, which is made in China)
So reliant on cheap Chinese labour is Kmart that entire aisles across its stores are empty until at least July after COVID-19 tore through Asia
‘We are advising our 7,500 clients to reject Chinese imports on the basis that they should not risk further disruptions to their supply chain, reject the communist regime and expand their horizons and recognise country risk,’ he told the Australian Financial Review.
‘We are assisting many of our clients to move their product sourcing to other countries and Australia, where certified, high quality and cost-competitive raw materials and finished products are available without the spectre of illegal work and political practices.’
He said the move away from China would be a major benefit to Australian suppliers.
His comments come as the relationship between the two nations continues to deteriorate.
Last month China suspended export from four Australian abattoirs over discrepancies in paperwork.
Brett Kelly, chief executive of ASX-listed accounting network Kelly+Partners, has called on his clients to look for alternative suppliers for manufactured and primary products Pictured: An electric fry pan made in China)
The meat suppliers – three from Queensland and one from New South Wales – sell around $1billion worth of meat to China each year, making up around a third of total beef exports to our biggest trading partner.
The move came just a day after China threatened to slap an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, a move which would cripple the industry.
The difficulties in the bi-lateral trade relationship followed the Australian government’s call for a ban on wildlife wet markets and an inquiry into how the coronavirus originated and spread from Wuhan.
The proposed inquiry – as well as repeated suggestions that China covered up the spread of the disease – have infuriated Beijing.
Employees work on the production line of LED chip at a workshop of Huai’an Aucksun Optoelectronics Technology
The dispute comes after a torrid year for Australia-China relations saw clashes over political interference, human rights abuses in western China and Huawei 5G equipment.
China has a track record of using economic sanctions for political purposes.
It includes encouraging a boycott of South Korean cars after the country deployed a US missile shield in 2017 and a ban on Norwegian salmon after Chinese rebel Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo that same year.
Australia and China have had a free trade agreement since 2015 but some exporters have still run into difficulties as relations have soured.
In 2018 Beijing imposed new customs regulations on Australian wine resulting in shipments being held up in Shanghai.
And last year – after Canberra stripped Chinese businessman Xiangmo Huang of his visa – major ports prolonged clearing times for Australian coal to at least 40 days, claiming the delay was due to ‘normal’ safety checks.