Australia urges allies to drink its wine to counter China ‘bullying’

A global alliance of parliamentarians has urged people to buy a bottle of Australian wine during the festive season in a campaign designed to stand up against “bullying” by China.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which has a membership of 200 MPs from 19 countries, asked citizens in a video to swap their favourite national tipple for Australian wine in a demonstration of solidarity with Canberra.

The campaign follows Beijing’s imposition of punitive tariffs on Australian exports to China and the publication of an incendiary social media post this week by a senior Chinese diplomat, which depicted an Australian soldier holding a bloodstained knife to the throat of an Afghan child...