China Removes Import Tariffs on Coal, Analysts Say the Move Likely Benefits Russia

New China-Russia railway completed, seeking to boost energy trade amid growing sanctions

The storage site of hard coal for the coal-fired power plant of the German energy supplier Steag in Duisburg, western Germany, on April 5, 2022. Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

The Russia-Ukraine war has brought significant constraints to the global energy supply as many countries have long depended on Russian exports of coal, oil, and gas.

On April 26, China’s Ministry of Finance announced it would remove import tariffs for all types of coal, starting from May 1 to March 31, 2023. Analysts believe that this policy change may largely benefit Russia as the European Union and Japan have recently moved to ban coal imports from the country.