China blocks imports from Australian beef producer

China has blocked imports from an Australian beef producer after reporting inspectors found a banned drug in its meat

BEIJING — China on Friday blocked imports from an Australian beef producer after reporting a banned drug was found in its meat.

Imports of beef from John Dee Warwick Pty. Ltd. that contained the banned chemical, chloramphenicol, were destroyed, the General Administration of Customs of China announced.

China earlier blocked imports of beef from Australia’s largest producers in what political analysts suggested was a dispute over trade rules.