Is China lifting its Australian coal ban, and what it means for Qld

China has not bought any new coal in recent days, despite increased chatter that its ban on Australian product could be ending.

There has been no new coal buying by China in recent days, despite increased chatter Beijing could be about to lift its unofficial ban on Australian resources.

It comes as Beijing’s state-owned publication the Global Times warned of “complex challenges” and cast doubt on the recent thaw in the countries’ relationship.

China’s unofficial ban on Australian coal, in place since November 2020 as relations between the two countries deteriorated, saw Queensland’s coal exports to the superpower plummet from about $1bn a month to all but nothing.

Coal at the Port of Brisbane. Picture: AAP image/John Gass

Despite recent talk that Beijing was considering lifting the ban, industry sources said there had been no movement yet.

Many companies sourced new markets when China closed off, mitigating any damage done to the industry.

One industry source said while companies had maintained business relationships in China, they had also made new relationships in the past two years.

“Coal companies have obviously been hurt by the actions of China over the past few years,” the source said.

“Those companies have now made relationships with new companies in new countries. All of that, plus the current shortages created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the increased demand that comes with that, will cause companies to very carefully assess options of selling coal into China if the market does open up.”

More concerns remain about the state government’s royalties rise, which created shockwaves in the industry when announced in the budget.

Meanwhile, in an editorial published on Monday morning, the Global Times took aim at Australia’s new Labor Government.

Despite early signs of a thawing in the relationship, with direct contact between ministerial counterparts for the first time in three years, the editorial accused the new government of reversing what it called a more “rational” approach to China.

“The continuity of the two defence ministers (Peter) Dutton and (Richard) Marles in regarding China as a ‘imaginary enemy’ is sufficient to indicate that the US influence over Australia … is very deep,” it said.