Shanghai/Canberra | The Australian government sought to downplay a link between Chinese restrictions on coal exports and its decision to block Huawei on Friday as shares in mining companies fell on fears the commodities sector would become collateral damage in the technology cold war between the US and China.

Beijing also denied a report that the port of Dalian in the country's north-east had specifically targeted Australian coal imports as part of more stringent environmental checks. However, sources in China stood by the report and a screen shot of a memo outlining the restrictions was circulated on social media on China.