Title : 'No evidence' of Chinese ban on Australia coal imports
link : 'No evidence' of Chinese ban on Australia coal imports
'No evidence' of Chinese ban on Australia coal imports
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says there is no evidence of a Chinese ban on Australian coal imports.
Key points:
- Reports suggest Australian coal imports have been blocked at ports in north-east China
- Trade Minster says there's "no basis to believe" China's restrictions were targeted towards Australia
- China says the processes were aimed at protecting the interests of Chinese importers and the environment
Officials have been scrambling to try to clarify reports that Australian coal had been blocked at a key port in China's north-east.
Senator Birmingham said while he understood import restrictions or quotas were slowing down the processing of coal, he did not believe the issues were isolated to Australian exporters.
"I want to provide reassurance that we have no basis to believe that there is a ban on Australian coal exports into China or into any part of China," he said.
"We are confident that the measures being put in place are not discriminatory towards Australia, that they are not measures targeted at us but indeed that they are measures that we will continue to work with because they are consistent in part with the history we've seen over recent times."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison also sought to downplay the issue, saying it did not point to a souring of the Chinese-Australian relationship.
"This is not the first time that on occasion, local ports make decisions about these matters," he said.
"And so there is nothing, no evidence before me or us that would suggest that it has the connotations that it has anything to do with anything more broadly than that."
China defends its actions
Chinese officials have also responded to the reports, saying the move was aimed at protecting the interests of Chinese importers and the environment.
"China's Customs assesses the safety and quality of imported coal, analyses possible risks, and conducts corresponding examination and inspection compliant with laws and regulations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
"By doing so, it can better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese importers and protect the environment."
The Dalian custom officers oversee imports through five harbours — Dalian, Bayuquan, Panjin, Dandong and Beiliang. Port authorities did not respond to calls for comment from the ABC.
Appearing before a parliamentary economics committee, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe said the volumes involved were a relatively small proportion of Australia's coal exports.
"The amount of coal that is being blocked is the equivalent of two months' exports from Australia to China. It's entirely possible that if that cannot enter the Chinese market then it can go to other markets," he said.
"If it were to be the sign of a deterioration in the underlying political relationship between Australia and China, that would be much more concerning."
Asked whether he was confident the issue had nothing to do with Australia's decision to ban Huawei from its 5G mobile infrastructure rollout, Senator Birmingham warned against linking "unrelated" matters.
"We believe and understand that these are simple import quotas, consistent with the likes that China has applied before, that China continues to apply and that apply equally to all countries," he said.
"And it's really unlikely and unhelpful to try to conflate other unrelated issues."
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