China embassy says Australia's claim of World Health Assembly vindication is 'a joke'

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. - AP

SYDNEY (Reuters): China derided as "a joke" on Tuesday (May 19) an Australian assertion that a resolution at the World Health Assembly (WHA) for an inquiry into the novel coronavirus was a vindication of its push for a global review, another sign of worsening relations.

In an unusually blunt statement on the same day that China imposed hefty tariffs on Australian barley exports, China's embassy in Canberra was sharply critical of Australia on an issue that has soured relations between them.