Australia: China's coal import ban 'lose-lose'

Chinese state media say Beijing has made a move making already-rocky relations with Australia worse, cutting off the coal it buys from down under.

Coal is one of Australia's major exports and China is a big customer, buying up nearly a third of it.

Beijing's already hit wine, seafood, timber and more, all since Australia called for an international inquiry into the source of the coronavirus.

Hours after the news broke, Australian leader Scott Morrison issued a warning to China:

"The four billion odd that goes into coal fire power generation in China, it really is a lose lose here... the other countries have 50% higher emissions than Australian coal and as a result that would be a bad outcome for the environment."

Morrison said any boycott of Australian coal would break international trade rules.

Despite Chinese restrictions, experts say Australia's coal exports are expected to hold up well because of new buyers in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.