China warns citizens against studying in 'racist' Australia

China has urged its citizens currently studying or planning to study abroad to exercise caution while considering Australia as their destination.

This statement comes in the middle of the spat between two countries, which has resulted in trade tensions.

To make its point, China referred to a series of racist incidents that targeted Asians in Australia, especially in the backdrop of COVID-19.

The statement was given by China’s Ministry of Education. Earlier, the country’s tourism ministry had warned citizens against travelling to Australia citing racial discrimination again, and suggesting that violence may be possible.

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The education ministry called upon “overseas students to conduct a good risk assessment and be cautious about choosing to go to Australia or return to Australia to study."

The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian newspaper conducted a survey to map out racist attacks in the country and found that 386 racially charged incidents had taken place in the country since April 2.

These incidents included physical abuse, spitting, and intimidation.

Australia was one of the first countries to formally suggest an enquiry into the pandemic which originated in Wuhan, China. After this, China has been attempting to sideline Australia in terms of trade and international visibility.

Also read: Amid dispute with China, India & Australia strengthen ties

Since then, China has imposed tariffs on imports of Australian barley, and has also stalled beef imports from the country. However, China denies that these decisions have anything to do with Australia’s calls for an international enquiry into China’s mishandling of the pandemic.

Australian administration has vocally criticised China for its handling of the virus, which has now spread across the globe, and also called out China for attempting to enforce security laws in Hong Kong, which it claims is intended to undermine the freedom of the democratic city.

New information suggests that coronavirus may have started spreading in China as early as August 2019. It was only in December of 2019 that public attention was brought to COVID-19, which has now spread across the globe.

Coronavirus has infected over 7 million people globally, as per data from the Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 7,113,366 people have had the virus, while 406,413 people have lost their lives to the pandemic, which went global six months ago.

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)