I suppose if you go back far enough it's possible to get back to 'China started it'. But the ongoing China-Aust quarrel that's been going on, was 'started' by the US and exacerbated by an overly-nationalistic and political approach to trade by our Government.
Excluding Huawei, because I don't know much about it and I have a feeling they were really pissed about it, all the other issues around our commodity exports have just been China scoring 100% free political points, like any country would (including Australia). The US locked China into a massive swing in their import behaviour towards America in the Trade Agreement signed last year. If you're wondering why you don't hear much about Chinese Trade from America anymore, that's why.
Unfortunately, that left China in the position of having to let other trading partners know that they had been brought somewhat to heel by the US with a trading agreement in which China clearly lost by a considerable margin, or save face by explaining away their abrupt changes in trading behaviour with a different story.
It's a pity. I wish that in just one of the infinite realities of the multiverse our Government had simply played it cool and been an ongoing great diplomatic friend to China all the way through this process. It would have been pretty spectacular to see China try to avoid losing face if they couldn't blame their sweeping trade adjustments on someone else. Alas, our Government has given them a rolling series of opportunities to project strength for commercial actions that they were going to have to do anyway.
It's been a long time since I read it and can't remember the exact detail, but in the offending China-US trade Agreement (where the biggest loser has turned out to be Australia) there are options to roll the Agreement out to stretch the period to five years, or extend the period for another five years. So even if we kissed and made up with China literally tomorrow morning we are likely still screwed until the middle of the decade, by which time these newly-derived trade relationships will have been normalised and will be awfully hard to dial back or (for us) to break back into. Yippee.
On the plus side, those hoping for or worrying about imminent war between China and the US can either rest easy or get used to being disappointed. Neither superpower are interested in rocking that particular boat when the ripples it sends out are only hitting Australia.
