Thursday, December 17, 2020

China Will Import Coal From Any Country, Except Australia

finance-twitter:

China Will Import Coal From Any Country, Except Australia – PM Morrison Upset Over Impact On The A$14 Billion Industry

Australia’s A$14 billion coal industry is expected to be affected with an export ban to China and a terribly upset Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision by Beijing would be a “lose-lose” for the environment and trading relationship. Morrison argued – “It really is a lose-lose because coal from other countries, compared to Australian coal, have 50% higher emissions than Australian coal.”

Yet, in the same breath, Canberra demanded Beijing to clarify a report that China’s top economic planner had granted approval to power plants to import coal without clearance restrictions, except for Australia. If the report, which was published by Chinese news media on Monday, is true, then China has breached international trade rules – claims Australia.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission revealed in a meeting with 10 major power enterprises that the coal purchase price should not exceed 640 Yuan (US$97.8) per ton and it ordered power plants to share inventory to reduce the purchase of high-priced coal in the market. But if Morrison really thinks China will lose too, he better thinks again.



Wang Yongzhong, director of the Institute of Energy Economy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said – “China’s major coal import source countries used to be Australia, Indonesia, Russia and Mongolia. Since Mongolia has a geographic advantage that allows lower transportation costs than any other exporters, it could take a large share from Australian coal.”

Obviously, Mongolia could easily replace Australia as coal supplier – at a lower transportation cost. It’s also laughable to use environment factor as part of the sales pitch to spook a country like China to buy Australian coal. Even if Beijing really cares about the environment more than punishing Canberra, PM Morrison should have done his homework.

Although China has been the biggest coal importer in the world for over 10 years, the country has already planned to reduce 100 million tons of coal consumption annually by 2030 to accomplish its carbon-neutral goal before 2060. Hence, unlike other commodities like iron ore, the demand for coal in China has only one way to go – down.



Of course, Morrison lied about his country’s coal. Global Carbon Project executive director, Dr Pep Canadell, has disputed the Australia’s argument that its “cleaner” coal will help China meet its emissions targets. He said – “It is all a very, very dirty energy source, whether it has a few more grams of CO2 or less. Coal doesn’t play a role in what China is pursuing now.”

To make matters worse for Australia, Russia suppliers plans to increase coal export to China, not to mention the emergence of Kazakhstan that says it plans to increase coal output to 120 million tons this year, with 38 million tons for export. Last month, Indonesia signed a three-year deal worth US$1.46 billion to sell more coal to China starting next year (2021).

Australia is the world’s top exporter of coal. Together with New Zealand, the Oceania exports US$44.4 billion worth of coal – a staggering 37.5% of global sales. Last year (2019), Australia exported coal worth almost A$14 billion to China – the third biggest export from the land Down Under. But in November this year, at least 60 bulk carriers holding Australian coal stranded off the coast in China.



In fact, nearly US$500 million in Australian coal transported by more than 50 vessels has been stranded outside Chinese ports since June. “Some ships have been waiting for months,” – said Nick Ristic, a dry bulk analyst with Braemar. Typically, ships would take a few days to berth at Chinese ports like Jingtang, although the duration can increase to 15 to 20 days if it’s busy.

For months, Beijing has deliberately cooked up lame excuses to give a hard time to vessels carrying Australian coal – from “environmental problems” to “poor quality” coal. But this is arguably the first time China officially confirms that the Aussie commodity is banned – suggesting that Beijing is openly challenging Canberra to do its best to retaliate.

Australia’s Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has urged Chinese authorities to “rubbish” the report, saying if the story is accurate, it would appear to be the use of “discriminatory practices” against Australian coal. But even if China has breached the rules set under WTO (World Trade Organization) or even China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), there’s very little Australia can do.



Elizabeth Sheargold, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Wollongong School of Law in Australia, said – “ChAFTA, like most free trade agreements, does not oblige either party to the treaty to purchase goods or services from the other. Instead, in ChAFTA both countries committed to eliminate or lower some of the barriers to trade such as tariffs or import quotas.”

In a nutshell, experts said neither country appears to have violated specific rules of the trade pact contained in WTO or ChAFTA simply because the deals are not a binding contract. They are just a set of trading guidelines and rules that are mutually agreed upon by China and Australia. The rules do not say that China “must trade” with Australia, and vice versa.

China is Australia’s biggest trading partner – about one-third of “the land Down Under” total exports go to the Chinese, contributing A$135 billion annually and providing thousands of jobs. However, beginning April, the relations between both nations have been spiralling downwards in the wake of Canberra’s call for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.



In April, Prime Minister Scott Morrison started what appeared to be a silly pro-Trump campaign, urging top allies France, Germany and New Zealand to pressure China to give the foreign countries the “weapons inspector-like” powers to investigate the Coronavirus outbreaks. That would be as good as an invasion, breaching the Chinese’s sovereignty.

Unimpressed, China mocked Australia of parroting U.S. President Donald Trump in its call for an inquiry to determine the origins of Covid-19. It was Morrison’s own admission that he had no evidence to suggest the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Only Trump said he was convinced the virus may have originated in the Chinese virology lab.

So in April, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye warned the Morrison government that its dangerous manoeuvre would spark a consumer boycott against Australian goods. Beijing made good on its promise, slapping an 80.5% tariff on all Australian barley grain in May after banning imports from four major Australian beef suppliers, allegedly over labelling issues.



By November, the situation was so bad that Chinese import agents warned their clients they had been informed that no Australian shipments of wheat, barley, sugar, red wine, timber, wool, lobster and copper ores would be cleared. The Aussie’s tourism and education sectors have also been targeted when Chinese tourists and students were advised to stay away from the country.

In its latest effort, Canberra had tried – but failed – to use the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal to reset economic relations with Beijing. In a sign that Beijing was not interested to end its dispute with Canberra, a Chinese foreign ministry official deliberately unleashed a tweet – an image depicting Australian troops’ war crimes in Afghanistan.

The provocative image of a grinning Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to an Afghanistan child’s throat had sparked condemnation from PM Scott Morrison, who demanded an apology from Beijing. Of course, the Chinese government refused to entertain the Australian’s request for obvious reason. From the beginning, it was a foolish decision to mix politics with business.



So far, there has been little indication that Australia’s political allies in the United States or Europe have been willing to step in and offer support. At least 13 Australian sectors have been subjected to tariffs or some form of bans because the United States’ “deputy sheriff” in the Asia-Pacific region was too eager to please Trump administration, and had bet wrongly that the U.S. president would win another term.




15 comments:

  1. This Bully should be lured into a back alley somewhere and beat up. Bully Canada, USA, India, ASEAN, Oz and just about everyone else. If want to be superpower then behave like one. Not like carrot head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow!!

      How many of our uncles & aunties have gotten their heads smacked up kaux2 while playing their one-upmanship?

      Delete
  2. "At least 13 Australian sectors have been subjected to tariffs or some form of bans because the United States’ “deputy sheriff” in the Asia-Pacific region was too eager to please Trump administration, and had bet wrongly that the U.S. president would win another term."

    Padan muka, padan muka, padan muka, padan muka....hehehe

    ScoMo the doofus PM thinks he could spit into China's face with impunity, fondly thinking that China will only issue its usual verbal warnings through its foreign ministry again and again, hehe

    This meme says it aptly :

    US : Fuck you
    China : ??

    US : Fuck you
    China : Go away

    US : Fuck you
    China : Leave me alone

    US : Fuck you
    China : No, fuck you

    US : OMG ! Wolf warrior diplomacy
    China : Hehehe

    Doofus "Deputy Sheriff" from Down Under finally gets a taste of the wolf warrior diplomacy in good measures, hehehe. China is learning fast...give a tight slap to the little poodle to deliver a message to the poodle's master : Don't Go Overboard !

    And AT THE SAME TIME, telling the rest not to go inhaling Master's fart with such exuberance, LOL

    Me loving this wolf warrior diplomacy, hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  3. In this video, we finally get to see the Chinese artist who drew such a fantastic piece of artwork depicting the criminal killings of civilians and children in Afghanistan. His second masterpiece depicting that ass-kissing ScoMo asking for apology is also shown here in this video :

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4KilV3LvzI

    ReplyDelete
  4. The usual CCP propaganda from finance twit-twat, CCP Bully's Deputy Sheriff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. & u keep regurgitating yr idols lies & propaganda w/o thinking!

      Yr neurons r truly petrified for shallowing all those farts.

      Delete
  5. Australia has a lot of possible Enemies Within - Musuh Dalam Selimut.

    Ethnic Chinese who cheer on the CCP over the nation that has given them so many opportunities.

    Maybe a good time to revoke their Permanent Residence if they are found to be unappreciative of their host nation ....wakakaka..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wakakakakakaka…

      Penny Wong included?

      Any one of yr children, too?

      Delete
    2. Spoken like a true banana... hehehe. And even if the Oz white supremacist Pauline Hanson were to spit into his bigoted face, he will loving gather the spit and preserved them as a momento to be treasured as this is the only time an angmo sai gets so intimate with him, wa ka ka ka. That's how low our typical cinakui had gone down to, tsk, tsk tsk.....

      Delete
  6. Emperor Xi is dreaming of the revival of the Yuan Dynasty.
    A period when much of Asia not under direct China rule , paid homage and kowtowed to China.

    Which ever state refused to do so was subject to severe punishment or even invasion.

    That period unfortunately led to centuries of hatred in Japan towards China, and led to terrible and tragic repercussions in the 20th Century

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yuan dynasty!

      Where do u read yr f*cked history?

      From that (in)famous fart filled hole!

      Delete
    2. Haha...dumb and dumber...like the saying goes, if this Bigoted Monstrosity had not opened his mouth, at the very least, he won't gave confirmation of his gross ignorance. Alas, his hatred gets the better of him and he threw caution to the wind.

      Even a simple, cursory check on the www would have save this old dumb Monster from being a laughing stock :

      'The Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) was a period when China was ruled by Mongol emperors. It lasted a little under a century before falling to economic troubles and massive social unrest largely caused by the exclusion of ethnic Chinese from government positions.

      Parts of the Chinese culture continued to flourish during the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan rulers encouraged advancement in technology and transportation. They also encouraged arts such as ceramics, painting, and drama. In some ways the Mongols became more like the Chinese over time.' These are just bare bones description for primary students but then it would be too much to recommend this dumb ignoramus to read books, actual books about China, hehe

      Delete
  7. Oooop… all u dingo worshippers haven't u guys forgetting yr altarized demoNcratitc freedom of choice?

    The money belongs to China. How to spend the money is China's!

    Who r u to dictate?

    Or u want to bring yr armies to China as in the previous 1900年(庚子年)?

    Mfers, too bad. Take it or leave it - as u have claimed.

    Eat yr heart out & keep farting to relief yr frustration lah. Otherwise u will be self imploded due to that accumulated foul gaseous!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Aisehman, when Australia banned Huawei from participating 5G infrastructure in Australia because of alleged security risk, served China right. But until today more than 2 years later still no evidence of the allegation. So what is wrong with China give one back to Australia by banning coal from Australia. Chinese must be "retard" if, when 'slapped' by Australia (banned 5G without justification) yet turn the other cheek (to buy coal and let Australia make money from China)

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    Replies
    1. Those katak will call that 'humble' & not to act bullying!

      Western blazing arm-twistings ain't bullying but China retaliations r labelled bullying!

      That's typical conventional dickheaded logics.

      Delete