MOSCOW: Russian coal exports to China through the Zabaikalsk-Majshauli railway crossing have increased by 214% since last year, according to an announcement from the Russian Consulate General in the northeastern province of Harbin on Monday.

According to the consulate, supplies totaled more than 438,000 tonnes in the first 40 days of 2023, with more than 6,200 freight cars of coal being sent to China.

In the Asian nation's Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, as well as the eastern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Russian coal is used to generate electricity and heat.

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Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak claimed earlier this month that Moscow plans to increase coal exports to China by 11.2% to 59.5 million tonnes in 2022.

The supply of coking coal to the steel industry has more than doubled as compared to last year.

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The EU import ban on Russian coal has caused Moscow to refocus its trade, resulting in an increase in Russian coal exports to China.

Beijing's industrial activity has recovered after three years of COVID restrictions, and as a result, the city has significantly increased its coal consumption.

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Despite its plans to reduce fossil fuel use, the nation last year installed the most new coal-fired power plants since 2015, according to a study by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor. approved. (GeM), which was published on Monday.