China is ramping up coal imports from Russia — but not Australia
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The photo was taken October 24, 2021 and shows coal being loaded onto a cargo vessel in Jiujiang in China’s central Jiangxi region.
Getty Images| AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING — As China tries to resolve its power shortage, the country is also ramping up its coal imports — bringing in three times as much coal from Russia compared to last year, China customs data show.
There are reports of power cuts at factories across ChinaIn September, the intensity of these efforts grew as local governments tried to reconcile rising electricity demand with their commitment to reducing carbon emissions. Initial trade data showed China’s imports of coal surged by 76% from a year agoFrom 22.9 to 32.9 millions tons in September
New customs data out late Tuesday showed that much of the coal came from Russia and Indonesia — not Australia. 2019 was the nation’s best year. accounted for about 38% of China’s imports of thermal coal,The primary fuel used in electricity production.
China sees an increase in thermal coal imports (2018-2021).
Source: Wind
According to Wind Information customs data, China imported approximately 3.7 Million Tonnes of Russia’s thermal coal in September. It’s 28% higher than in August and over 230% above the level a year earlier.
It is not an isolated event. China has been importing more Russian thermal coal than ever before from Russia every month since May. These figures are also well above the pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Stephen Olson (senior research fellow, Hinrich Foundation), a non-profit focused on trade, said, “This shows that China still requires the global trade system,”
In an email, he stated that trade restrictions can also be used to exert geopolitical pressure.
Despite China’s increased need for coal,According to data from the Customs Agency, imports of Australian thermal coal remained at zero since late 2020 when an informal ban was implemented.
Australia used to be China’s biggest source of coal imports. However, political tensions between China and Australia grew after Australia funded an investigation into Beijing’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
China imported 3 million tonnes of Indonesian coal thermal coal in August. That’s an increase of 19% over August and an 89% gain from September 2020. Customs data revealed that China had also imported 3,000,000 tons from Indonesia.
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