China’s imports of US coal, Canadian barley continue to climb amid ban on Australian exports
- US coal exports to China more than doubled between February and March, moving Beijing closer to meeting US-China trade deal obligations
- Canada has also gained from China-Australia trade tensions, with barley exports to China more than doubling during the current harvest season
China continued to buy large quantities of coal from the United States in March, moving it closer to meeting its obligations under the US-China trade deal and replacing Australian coal exports that were banned in October.
While only representing a fraction of Australia’s pre-ban coal exports to China, the US sold about 663,000 tonnes of coal in March, more than double its exports in February, the latest Chinese customs data showed.
American coal exports to China have reached similar levels before, although Chinese purchases have tended to be volatile over the past few years.
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Despite its emissions reduction targets, China’s coal imports from the US are unlikely to subside quickly given it is aiming for economic growth of “above 6 per cent” this year.
While some climate observers said more ambitious measures were required, Chinese officials stressed the country’s targets were already onerous.
In terms of the barley blockage, we have found that due to strong global demand, barley has found new home
“China certainly hopes to abandon its overreliance on fossil fuels and to meet our 2030 goals, we must address the issue of our coal-fired plants,” said Su Wei, deputy Secretary-General of China’s state planning agency on Thursday last week.