SINGAPORE -- Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged his successor, Scott Morrison, to stay the course even as Beijing ramps up pressure on Canberra to soften its China policy.
Already tense bilateral relations worsened further in April after Australia called for an independent inquiry into how the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, was initially handled. Since then, Beijing has slapped tariffs and import bans on Australian beef and barley while warning its citizens against traveling to the country, citing incidents of alleged discrimination against Asians.
