ABSTRACT
Most recently when the Paris-based Secretariat of UNESCO proposed to place the Great Barrier Reef on the World Heritage in Danger list based largely on the reports of Australian scientists, the first response of the Government was to blame the Chinese chair of the World Heritage Committee. High prices for iron ore have masked a decline of 40% in exports of wine, coal, barley and crustations, as China refuses entry to or imposes high tariffs on these goods (Doran 2021). Trump, seeking to stem the decline in US manufacturing and to undermine China's 'technology driven ambitions,' placed tariffs on Chinese imports (Bartholomeusz 2021) and introduced measures to stem alleged Chinese industrial espionage. Chinese officials responded strongly accusing the US of using its military power and financial hegemony to exert extraterritorial power and suppress other countries, of using 'national security' as an excuse to obstruct trade and hoping the US would improve its human rights given the US history of discrimination against Black Americans (Haigh 2021).