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AsiaElec: China reacts to end of unofficial ban on Aussie coal

Chinese coal buyers have increased their forays into Australian coal purchases in the past month with the easing of an unofficial two-year ban on Australian coal making its way to the country.

Traders in coal, prompted by coal-hungry utilities across China, were given the green light on imports from Australia a month earlier, when authorities in Beijing permitted four central government-linked firms to open the door to Aussie coal.

The self-enforced ‘ban’ had been in place since late 2020, following a diplomatic spat between Canberra and Beijing, but with Chinese steel maker Baowu along with a trio of leading utilities screaming out for coal in recent months, Beijing blinked first.

Coal exports from the world’s second-largest exporter to the largest consumer primarily comprise thermal coal, with lesser amounts of coking coal also sent north of the equator to help power China’s massive steel mills.

If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Australian coal exports to China then please click here for NewsBase’s AsiaElec Monitor.