Chinese imports of Russian coal reportedly dropping due to sanctions, price

China has been decreasing coal imports from Russia despite a steady growth in domestic demand, turning instead to Australian and Mongolian suppliers, The Moscow Times reported on Jan. 21, citing Chinese customs data.

This development signals another blow to the Russian coal industry, which is already facing multibillion-dollar losses and mass bankruptcies.

Russia’s share in Chinese coal imports shrank despite the latter’s demand growing by 14% in 2024 compared to the previous year, The Moscow Times reported.

Russia’s coal exports to China were said to have dropped by almost 7%, with Mongolian and Australian coal export volumes growing 18% and 60%, respectively, in 2024 compared to 2023.

Warnings that Russia’s coal industry was beginning to nosedive appeared in the second half of 2024, when AC TEK, a Russian state analytical center under the Energy Ministry, published a dire assessment.

Western sanctions, insufficient transport infrastructure to the east, and Chinese tariffs levied on Russian coal are contributing to the industry's setback.

Despite growing economic ties between Moscow and Beijing, the Western sanctions have presented an increasingly serious obstacle to Russian-Chinese trade relations.

China’s support for Russia falls short in replacing Western materials, media reports

China has emerged as Russia’s largest supplier of goods, but Chinese imports have failed to fully replace Western equipment and raw materials lost due to sanctions, The Moscow Times reported on Jan. 20, citing data from the Gaidar Institute.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy