Editor’s note for Thursday, November 5, 2020

My thoughts today:

“China is about to wipe out, with the stroke of a pen, Australia’s biggest export markets for wine, lobster and a few other commodities, against WTO rules and a bi-lateral FTA. Seems like it should be a bigger deal, and not just in Australia…”

That’s a tweet from Richard McGregor — author, former Beijing bureau chief for the Financial Times, and senior fellow at Australia’s Lowy Institute. Context:

• Australian exporters scramble as fears of more China trade bans grow / Guardian
• Beijing continues to punish Australia, hobble WHO to prevent independent COVID-19 investigation / The China Project
• Or see the other articles linked in the Politics and current affairs section below.

Our NEXTChina online conference is happening next week! Access Members can register for free for this year’s event by using the promo code NC20ACCESS. Click here to learn more and get tickets.

Our word of the day is breastfeed: 母乳喂养 mǔrǔ wèiyǎng.

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief