China boosts Russian coal imports – data

Beijing has ramped up consumption of the fossil fuel as its industry rebounds after the pandemic

Russian coal exports to China via the Zabaikalsk-Manzhouli railway crossing have surged by 214% compared to last year, the Russian Consulate General in the northeast province of Harbin announced on Monday.

In the first 40 days of 2023 supplies exceeded 438,000 tons, with more than 6,200 freight cars of coal exported to China, the consulate said.

The Asian country is using Russian coal to generate electricity and heat in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, as well as in the east of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said that Moscow ramped up coal supplies to China by 11.2% to 59.5 million tons in 2022. Supplies of coking coal for the steel industry have more than doubled compared to the previous year.

READ MORE: Russia boosts oil exports to China – Bloomberg

A boost in Russian coal exports to China comes as Moscow diverts its trade following the EU's import ban on the country’s coal. Meanwhile, Beijing has substantially increased coal consumption as its industrial activity rebounds after three years of Covid restrictions.

Last year, the country approved the highest number of new coal-fired power plants since 2015 despite its plans to cut the use of the fossil fuel, according to a report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Global Energy Monitor (GEM), released on Monday.

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