On Wednesday, China said that imported coals failed to meet its own environmental standards.
The statement responded to the reports of a sizable amount of Australian coal currently stalled in Chinese ports.
“In recent years Chinese customs have conducted risk monitoring assessments on the safety and quality of imported coal, and we found that many coal imports have failed to meet environmental standards,” said Zhao Lijian, the deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department.
The country has also strengthened the examination and testing of imported coal regarding safety, quality, and environmental standards, he added.
Since October, China has been unofficially banning Australian coal imports in the midst of the souring geopolitical relationship between the two countries. China boosts imports from Mongolia and Russia to compensate for the missing Australian coal.
