This sudden ban left many Australian coal carriers stranded off the coast of China.
Two months after China announced a "mouth" ban on coal imports from Australia, causing a stir, the Global Times reported on December 12 that the China National Development and Reform Commission appeared to has officially announced restrictions on Australia’s coal imports.
Following the move, more than 50 Australian coal carriers were "stranded" off the coast of China after the Chinese ports "received oral notice" in October about not loading the consignments. this row.
According to experts, the Chinese authorities’ verbal ban announcement is an informal and politically motivated measure, especially in a time when relations between the two countries are becoming increasingly strained. straight. However, given Beijing’s goal of reducing carbon consumption and emissions, the ban aimed at tightening commercial coal import quotas was judged to be justified.
According to the authorities, Chinese thermal power plants are allowed to import coal from other countries without any restrictions other than coal from Australia. If this source is correct, it is clear that the above move by China will be judged as discriminating against Australia. Since the beginning of the year until now, a series of important Australian products and products exported to China have been restricted or even banned from import.
After the news was released, shares of Australian coal exporting enterprises were sold off. These exporters are in the same situation when suffering from a severe devaluation of between 8.9-12.5% ..
In fact, since 2018 when China’s top tech conglomerate Huawei Technologies suspended the construction of Australian 5G networks for national security reasons, relations between Beijing and Canberra have been severely reduced and not yet. no signs of cooling off. Things got worse this year when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only that, Australia is also called "American puppet" by Beijing and received many criticisms for interfering in the internal affairs of this country.
Last month, Chinese power plants and steel mills were announced to stop using Australian coal, leaving huge value coal carriers stranded offshore.
Specifically, according to SCMP , more than 4.1 million tons of metallurgical coal on 39 ships are stranded. In addition, nine ships are carrying about 1.1 million tons of thermal coal. According to preliminary estimates, the total value of these coal lots is about 519 million USD.
During the seven-month conflict, China imposed a series of taxes and embargoes - some informally - on Australian goods, from barley, beef, cotton, to alcohol, coal and wood. Furthermore, Beijing also requires domestic businesses to stop buying Australian copper, sugar, wood and lobster.
The reciprocal sanctions and retaliation between the two countries are in stark contrast to the good bilateral relations between Australia and China in previous years, especially since the Chinese President’s visit to Australia. Xi Jinping in 2014 with great success is the signing of a comprehensive free trade agreement in 2015.
As of 2016, China is Australia’s largest export market. In 2019, Australia’s total two-way trade with China totaled $ 170 billion. In particular, coal is Australia’s third largest export item to the Chinese market, bringing in revenue of more than AUD 14 billion in 2019 and meeting up to 60% of the coal demand of the third largest economy. 2 World.
