Labor fears humanitarian crisis on Australian coal ships stranded off China

The opposition calls on the Morrison government to work to repair the relationship with Beijing as exporters face a grim' year

Australian exporters face another grim" year driven by tensions with China while a standoff over more than 70 ships stranded with Australian coal on board threatens to cause an international humanitarian crisis, the opposition has said.

While warning of the mounting economic costs to Australia, the shadow trade minister, Madeleine King, called on the Morrison government to take a step towards repairing the relationship by pledging to eradicate deeply offensive anti-China rhetoric" from some backbench MPs.