The first Australian coal shipment to China in more than two years is on the verge of docking, providing hard evidence of a major thaw in trade relations between the two countries following months of diplomatic talks.
 

Bulk carrier Magic Eclipse was anchored off the southern port city of Zhanjiang on Thursday morning, according to Bloomberg shipping data. It’s carrying metallurgical coal mined in Australia and destined for the Chinese market. Zhanjiang is a center for steel production in China.
 

Australia’s government welcomes “any step towards resolving the trade impediments,” Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement Thursday. 
 

China placed informal restrictions on the use of Australian coal in 2020, after then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in Wuhan that year. 


The punitive trade actions mandated by Beijing also extended to lucrative agricultural exports including wine, barley and lobsters. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.
 

However, following the election of a center-left Labor government in May, diplomatic relations between Canberra and Beijing steadily improved. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with his counterpart Farrell on Monday, for the first bilateral trade talks in more than two years.
 

The two ministers agreed to “enhance dialogue” with the aim of ensuring “the timely and full resumption of trade.” 
 

A second coal shipment from Australia is expected to dock in China later this month, solidifying the renewed trading relationship.

Source: Bloomberg

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