Tensions between Australia and China have reached new heights with Beijing releasing a list of 14 grievances with Canberra.

It’s a move that only tightens the already strained relations between Australia and China, which has our exporters caught squarely in the middle.

National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar told Deborah Knight farmers are encouraging the government to work something out and “not to get into a further diplomatic tussle or debacle”.

“The Prime Minister is right, we’ve got to be a strong responsible global citizen but we’ve also got to have respectful diplomatic relationships.

“I think we’ve just got to keep working at it.”

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The Chief Executive of Australian Wine and Grape Incorporated, Tony Battaglene agreed that we need to work together to resolve the differences, otherwise “it’d be cutting your nose off to spite your face”.

“It’s in all our interests, both China and our own, to resolve the issues we’ve got,” Mr Battaglene told Deborah Knight.

He says the Australian wine industry has taken “a huge hit” to their $1.2 billion export market during the disputes.

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Image: Getty