If China stops taking Australia’s coal, will other countries fill the gap?

Chinese state-owned media appeared to confirm a ban on imports of Australian coal this week.

Australian officials are now trying to figure out how serious the threat is, and its implications.

If China stops taking Australia’s coal, will other countries fill the gap? Could Japan, India and South Korea?

What’s happened?

A state-owned tabloid in China, The Global Times, this week reported China’s top economic planner was allowing the country’s power plants to import coal without clearance restrictions from several countries “except for Australia.”

It appears to confirm that the unofficial ban China placed on Australian coal imports in recent months has become official.

It’s part of rapidly escalating trade tensions that have seen China slap…