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Eighty Australian coal carriers were unable to access Chinese ports due to the ban.
Australia is the country that satisfies 57% of the high temperature coal imported to China in 2019. This coal is used for thermal power plants, generating electricity.
But last month, China enacted a ban on coal imports from Australia. As a result, 80 coal cargo ships worth up to $ 1.1 billion were unable to dock in China.
Coal prices in China fell to around 500 yuan last month, but increased more than 50% to 760 yuan on December 16. As a result, millions of Chinese residents fall into power outages, according to SCMP.
About 57 million people in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai on China’s east coast, live in a power shortage in the middle of winter.
The Zhejiang provincial government requires offices to use heating equipment only if the temperature drops below 3 degrees Celsius. Restaurants can only use air conditioning to serve diners, rather than staff.
Particularly in Wenzhou city, the regulation was issued from December 11 to 20. Small and medium-sized factories were required to stop production for two days, from December 13-30.
In Hunan province, home to 67 million people, many residents have to walk to the 20th floor because the elevator stops working due to a lack of electricity, according to The Australian.
“It cannot be said that the tense relationship between Australia and China is not the cause of this situation,” said a source in the Chinese energy industry.
Right in Shanghai’s financial center, where 24 million people live, the city government ordered shopping malls and office buildings to turn off air conditioning and unnecessary electrical equipment.
Shanghai’s iconic laser and light show, along the Huangpu River, will stop for the next few days.
The National Development Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, said the country has enough coal to meet demand during winter and spring despite rising prices, according to SCMP.
Australian coal accounts for 57% of China’s imports.
The coal trading center in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, where China’s coal mining industry is booming, blamed rising coal prices for the ban on imports from Australia.
“There are more than 80 cargo ships carrying 8.8 million tonnes of coal, originating in Australia, that cannot dock in China,” said the source at SCMP. “In the short term, coal cannot be imported from Australia but must depend on the domestic market.”
According to Chinese media, major Chinese power companies recently held a meeting with the authorities, who agreed to lift restrictions on coal imports from abroad, except Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said China banned coal imports from Australia, which only cost both countries, violating free trade laws between the two countries. Mr. Morrison said that China’s purchase of low-quality coal from other countries will have negative impacts on the sea of climate change.
On the contrary, China’s Foreign Ministry said Australia is the responsible country, not “blaming China.”
“This is an action intended to mislead the public and we do not accept Australia’s statement,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Vuong Van Ban, saying Australia was deliberately “playing the victim”.
