Ending Australia coal ban would put China ties back on track, minister says
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the relief should be extended to the curbs placed on some of other Australian exports as well
- Chinese bureaucrats have proposed that Beijing should authorise the resumption of Australian coal imports as diplomatic tensions begin to ease
Chinese bureaucrats are proposing that senior leaders should authorise the resumption of purchases as tensions begin to ease, and on concerns global coal supply may tighten as Western-led sanctions on Russian energy exports kick in.
“An important part of stabilising relations with China is to see some of those sanctions lifted on our exporters here in Australia,” Chalmers told Sky News television on Sunday.
“We would like to see it happen and we’d like to see it not stop there – it should extend to the restrictions that are placed on some of our other exports as well.”
A plan to end the ban will be handed to leaders who are in a position to authorise any change in policy, people familiar with the matter said last week. Australia has an opportunity to build “favourable conditions” for improvements in trade relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Thursday in Beijing.