Chinese state media boss calls Australia 'gum on the bottom of our shoe' as tensions boil over when Beijing ambassador threatens to kill our economy in revenge for inquiry into spread of COVID-19

The editor of a Chinese state media publication has described Australia as 'gum stuck to the bottom of our shoe' as the relationship between the once-friendly nations wanes during the coronavirus crisis.

Australia is standing firm on its calls for an independent probe into the origins of COVID-19, sparking fury among Chinese diplomats who have threatened to cut economic ties with the country.   

China has repeatedly refused to welcome an international investigation into the outbreak, most recently describing the demands of Australia as 'political manoeuvring'. 

The deadly respiratory virus has infected more than three million people globally, including 6,729 Australians. So far, 212,000 people have died worldwide.  

Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run Global Times, on Tuesday shared a post on Weibo saying ties between Australia and China would continue to deteriorate, as a bitter war of words threatened to escalate into a diplomatic disaster.  

'After the epidemic, we need to have more risk awareness when doing business with Australia and also when we send our children to study there,' he wrote.

'Australia is always there, making trouble. It is a bit like chewing gum stuck on the sole of China's shoes. Sometimes you have to find a stone to rub it off.' 

+11

Vendors wearing face masks as they offer prawns for sale at a market in Wuhan where reports of the virus first emerged in December

He also admitted China would try 'economic coercion' to bring Australia to heel, making a thinly-veiled threat that 'time will prove it all'. 

'Let me give a "coercion" to Australia,' he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

'As its attitude toward China becomes worse and worse, Chinese companies will definitely reduce economic cooperation with Australia. 

'And the number of Chinese students and visitors going to Australia will also decrease. Time will prove it all.'

His comments echo those made by China’s ambassador, Jingye Cheng, who last week threatened a mass boycott of Australian produce.

+11

On Sunday Chinese Ambassador to Australia Jingye Cheng (pictured) warned Chinese consumers may stop buying Australian products in revenge

'Maybe also the ordinary people will say, ''why should we drink Australian wine or to eat Australian beef?'',' he told the Australian Financial Review.

Australia responded quickly, making it clear the ambassador's comments were out of line. 

'The government has made our displeasure with those remarks known,' Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday.

China accounts for 26 per cent of Australia's total trade, worth around $235 billion in 2018/19, and is the biggest single market for Australian exports including coal, iron ore, wine, beef, tourism and tertiary education. 

But the Scott Morrison government stood firm in its decision call for a global inquiry into how the virus spread from its epicentre in Wuhan and caused a global crisis.

Senator Birmingham said Australia was a 'crucial supplier' to China for imports and energy helped power much of China's manufacturing growth and construction. 

'COVID-19 has seen hundreds of thousands of people die around the world, millions of people lose their jobs, billions of people face massive disruption to their lives,' he said.

'The least the world can expect is a transparent inquiry into the causes of COVID-19 so that we can understand how best to prevent a repeat episode any time in the future.'

Mr Birmingham said on Tuesday Ambassador Cheng had been called by the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to explain his comments about China boycotting Australian produce.  

+11

China is Australia's largest trading partner. Mr Jingye said Chinese citizens may reject Australian exports and industries if the probe goes ahead (pictured: Chinese nationals on a holiday in Sydney) 

The Chinese embassy took the extraordinary step of publishing a summary of the conversation later on Tuesday.

On its website, it noted Cheng said China 'flatly rejected the concern expressed from the Australian side'.

Ambassador Cheng said 'the fact cannot be buried that the proposal is a political manoeuvre,' according to the statement, which added that Australia was 'crying up wine and selling vinegar' when it said the proposed review would not target China.  

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade released a statement on Tuesday night addressing China's remarkable decision to publish the conversation. 

'DFAT notes with regret that the Embassy of the People's Republic of China has issued a statement releasing purported details of official diplomatic exchanges,' the statement read.

'The department will not respond by itself breaching the long standing diplomatic courtesies and professional practices to which it will continue to adhere.

'How foreign missions engage the Australian media are matters for those missions.

'For its part, the department will continue to pursue Australia's interests with all foreign missions according to the highest standards of professionalism, courtesy and respect for our counterparts.'