The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released a mid-term report on the coal market, which pointed out that due to the low exchange rate of the Australian currency in the next five years, China's coal demand for Australia is expected to increase.

Earlier this year, Glencore, the world's largest producer of marine thermal coal, estimated that falling commodity prices and high production costs would make about 36% of Australian coal mines unprofitable. This report undoubtedly brings confidence to the Australian coal industry.

As the world's largest coal producer, consumer, and importer, China has begun to promote diversified energy supply, focusing on reducing traditional energy consumption. The consumption of clean energy such as natural gas, nuclear energy, and renewable energy is expected to show astonishing growth. However, according to the IEA, despite China's efforts to reduce coal consumption, its consumption will still account for three-fifths of global demand growth in the coming years. It is expected that in the next five years, under normal macroeconomic conditions, China's coal consumption will not reach its peak.

IEA also pointed out that China's future economic growth needs more energy supply, but it is far from enough to rely only on nuclear energy, natural gas, oil and renewable resources. It should also focus on traditional energy sources such as coal, and invest in and develop new coal power generation technologies and Coal gasification power plants. In fact, China is also implementing a series of supporting measures to improve air quality, such as establishing coal bases with ultra-high voltage lines connecting large cities, and installing clean equipment in coal-fired power plants.