Australia wants to hold separate talks with China on the wine tariff dispute, rejecting Beijing's proposal to bundle wine with other trade issues as a package solution.

At a regular news conference on Sept. 21, China's Ministry of Commerce said it was willing to promote a 'package' settlement of the wine case and the anti-dumping and countervailing measures against three Australian exports to China, including wind towers, railway wheels and stainless steel sinks.

Australian Agriculture Minister Stephen Watt responded on Sunday, saying, "We think they are completely separate issues." Watt told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Australia wanted to resolve the wine dispute through dialogue in the same way it had resolved the barley dispute.

China lifted tariffs on Australian barley last month, raising concerns that Beijing could also ease tariffs on Australian wine. The punitive tariffs, which will be in place from 2021, have hit Australian wine exports.

Watt also said Australia would continue to take the wine case to the World Trade Organization and would continue to defend the steel case.

Australia in 2020 called for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, prompting Beijing to counter with a series of trade measures that have hit its export-dependent economy hard.

China was Australia's largest wine export market before the coronavirus outbreak. Exports reached A $1.2 billion (S $1.055 billion) in the 12 months to January 2020.