Australian officials and leading universities on Wednesday rejected China’s claims students should be “cautious” in choosing to study Down Under because of concerns over racist incidents during the coronavirus pandemic. China’s ministry of education warned students on Tuesday there had been “multiple discriminatory incidents against Asians in Australia” during the pandemic, ramping up diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The advisory was the latest in an escalating dispute between Beijing and Canberra that was deepened by Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origin and handling of the coronavirus in central China last year.
