Imports have been suspended by China due to quarantine issues, and the Australian timber industry has been "complaining" for months. Now, foreign media have reported that Australian officials' request for the resumption of timber imports has been ignored by China, and the “cold bench” will continue to sit.

Reuters said on the 12th that two “informed sources” of the Australian government revealed that the Australian side tried to proactively contact and provided evidence to the Chinese customs agency that the exported logs had been sprayed with pesticides, but did not receive any response. They believe that this means that Australia's hopes of exporting timber to China will be "frozen" for a long time.

Since November last year, the General Administration of Customs of China announced that due to the detection of quarantine pests from logs imported from many places in Australia, the import of logs from Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia has been suspended in accordance with relevant laws. The relevant situation has been notified to the Australian authorities.

Reuters quoted relevant data as saying that Australia exports about A$1.6 billion and 4 million tons of logs and pulped wood to China each year. Exports to China account for about 90% of Australia's timber exports.

Victor Violante, vice president of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), said that if the situation is "stale" for months or even years, it will severely hit the entire industry chain, including sawmills, and lose thousands of jobs.

Steve Garner, chairman of the Portland Township Business Council in Victoria, described the local sawmill as "almost a ghost town" and "hundreds of jobs have been suspended".  According to Australian government data, the logging industry directly involves the employment of 3,400 workers, while transportation and other related industries include an additional 4,900 jobs.

Australian media reported at the end of last year that Hampton, the chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association, warned that if China's import ban is reached by March this year, South Australia alone will lose up to 1,000 jobs in the "Green Triangle" area.

Previously, the Australian government provided about 70 million Australian dollars (about 350 million yuan) for the country's timber industry to find new markets. However, the Australian Forest Products Association directly poured cold water and emphasized that China is the main buyer of pulped wood in the world, and "this approach is unlikely to succeed."

O'Connor, a senior official of the Australian Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU), once called for short-term assistance to related industries and the development of timber value-added plans. In this way, "that don't have to be a prisoner of the ongoing tension between China and Australia."

In November last year, Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on the issue of the suspension of imports of Australian logs that the Chinese competent authorities have adopted relevant measures against foreign products exported to China in accordance with laws and regulations, which complies with Chinese laws and regulations and international practices, and is also a responsible behavior to Chinese domestic industries and consumers. He also emphasized that a healthy and stable China-Australia relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples.