China's Coal Import Ban Has More Bark Than Bite
When it comes to critical commodities, Beijing rarely follows through on its threats.
You can keep your lumps of coal.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
Remember in June when China called a halt to purchases of U.S. soybeans and then stopped buying U.S. soybeans? Or last year, when China blocked imports of Australian coal and then stopped buying Australian coal? Yeah, me neither.
That’s the way to think about Beijing’s latest “ban” on Australian coal. China has suspended purchases and told power stations and steel mills to stop using product sourced from its trading partner, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News on Monday. There’s no reason to doubt the seriousness of the intent here — but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from previous episodes of this sort, it’s that China is unlikely to follow through.