There’s an old Chinese idiom that says “kill a chicken to scare the monkey” (殺雞儆猴). According to the folktale, there was a street performer who made a lot of money from a dancing monkey. One day, that monkey, however, didn’t want to perform. The owner became very angry and went to get a live chicken that he then proceeded to kill in front of the monkey. The monkey resumed dancing at once and never protested again.

A similar dynamic is playing out today between China and Australia. It provides a potent lesson for other countries who, like Australia, depend on China for the bulk of its trade. Relations between the two countries have been steadily deteriorating for years over a number of issues but hit a new low last spring when Canberra crossed one of China’s proverbial red lines when it called for an independent investigation into the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak.