Cargo is loaded and unloaded at the Tongling port in East China's Anhui Province on November 1, 2021. Tongling has over recent years committed to port construction, contributing to the city's export-oriented economy. Photo: cnsphoto

China's imports from Australia in December 2021 fell by 13.0 percent month-on-month, amid a downturn in bilateral relations.

Trade between China and Australia stood at $231.2 billion in 2021, accounting for 3.82 percent of China's total foreign trade, which surpassed $6 trillion for the first time, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Friday.

Total imports from Australia stood at $11.4 billion in December 2021, down 13.0 percent from $13.07 billion in November. But the imports from Australia for the whole year reached $164.8 billion, up 40.0 percent on a yearly basis. 

Analysts said the increase in the value of China's imports from Australia is mainly due to the skyrocketing prices of goods, especially bulk commodities, and the low base of comparison from 2020.

China imported $114.8 billion worth of goods from Australia in 2020, down by 5.3 percent from 2019, per GAC data.

The rise in prices is also evident in China's trade data. 

China imported 28.9 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia in 2020, valued at $10.31 billion, or approximately $357 per ton of LNG. 

Meanwhile, from January to November in 2021, China imported 2.83 million tons of LNG from Australia - a nearly tenfold decrease, but with a total value of $2.55 billion, meaning the price was about $899 per ton. 

The price of LNG imported from Australia in 2021 rose 151.8 percent in a year. 

The LNG price hike is not the only example in China's energy trade. 

A tanker carrying 155,000 cubic meters of LNG arrives at Zhoushan port, East China's Zhejiang Province on Wednesday. The facility has received 100 LNG ships since August 2018. Data from the General Administration of Customs showed Wednesday that LNG imports totaled 10.62 million tons in September, up 23 percent year-on-year. Photo: cnsphoto

The total volume of China's imported natural gas was 121.4 million tons in 2021, up 19.9 percent year-on-year, compared with a value that surged 67.6 percent year-on-year.

A total of 323.2 million tons of coal was imported in 2021, up 6.6 percent from 2020. But the total value of imported coal was $35.9 billion, up by 76.9 percent year-on-year.

Global Times