BREAKING: China Issues Stern Warning To Australia

Chinese students and tourists could stop coming to Australia if Prime Minister Scott Morrison pursues an inquiry into the beginnings of coronavirus, a leading Chinese official has warned.

The stern warning was issued by Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye who labelled a push for an independent COVID-19 inquiry by the federal government as ‘dangerous’.

Mr. Jingye warned that if Australia continued to be ‘unfriendly’ to China, its people – in particular its students and tourists – may have second thoughts about travelling.

While admitting that his country had not handled the COVID-19 outbreak ‘perfectly’ he said the reaction by nations like Australia had left the Chinese people ‘dismayed’.

‘I think in the long term… if the mood is going from bad to worse, people would think ‘Why should we go to such a country that is not so friendly to China? The tourists may have second thoughts,’ he told The Australian Financial Review.

‘The parents of the students would also think whether this place which they found is not so friendly, even hostile, whether this is the best place to send our kids.’

Education is Australia’s third-biggest export and is worth more than $30 billion to the economy every year.

The ambassador refused to comment on whether key exports such as iron ore, coal, and gas would be affected by perceived anti-China sentiment.