As the world's largest coal producing country offering the widest variety of coal, China is evolving rapidly from coal exporter to major importer.

According to China Customs Statistics, China’s net coal import in October 2010 is 11.12 million tons, increasing by 21% compared with the same period of last year; the total net import of the first 10 months adds up to 118 million tons, a 51% year-on-year increase.

Some coastal districts in Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province import more coal than the other areas because they have the fastest growing economy and see a continued increase in coal consumption.

In terms of the imported variety, thermal coal for power generation is the scarcest type, and also is a major type of coal imported by China. Due to the downturn of coal price in the international market last year, plus freight, tariffs and VAT, the CIF price of the imported coals were still lower than that of the domestic coals most of the time.  

The expectation of coal price’s rising also contributes to the increase of coal imports. It is understood that China's coal imports usually sign re-negotiating long-term supply contracts. Even if the CIF prices of coals in the international market in the second half year rise slightly, considering the coal prices would continue to rise as the recovery of the global economy, many Chinese coal-consuming enterprises in coastal areas still sign big orders with international coal suppliers to fix the current prices.
 

“However, China’s net coal imports will not change the major pattern of self-production”, said the senior official of China National Coal Association, “although China’s net imported of coal reaches up to 100 million tons last year, definitely being a major importer in the world, it accounts for only a small portion of China’s total consumption of 3 billion tons during the whole year.”