Canberra Plays Down Reports Of Chinese Curbs

Canberra on Friday played down reports a major Chinese port had banned coal imports from Australia, as fears grow that worsening diplomatic tensions are damaging the nations' crucial trading relationship.

Industry experts have noted recently that China appeared to be delaying customs clearances for Australian coking coal used in steel-making, but a report late on Thursday that Dalian Ports had specifically banned Australian coal shipments sent the Aussie dollar plunging.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner and coal is the resources-rich country's most valuable export.

Australian officials were unable on Friday to confirm the import ban, initially reported by Reuters, and said the country's ambassador in Beijing was seeking clarification.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged observers to be "careful about leaping to conclusions" and said regulatory rather than political issues were at play.

"This is not the first time that on occasion local ports make decisions about these matters," he told reporters in Auckland, where he is meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern.

"And so there is nothing – no evidence before me or us – that would suggest that it has the connotations that it has anything to do with anything more broadly than that."

There has been speculation about whether the Dalian move is about addressing domestic pressures, or retribution over Canberra's decision to ban Chinese communications giant Huawei's 5G equipment over security risks.

Central bank governor Philip Lowe said Friday it would be "concerning" if the diplomatic spats were spilling into the trading arena, but added that it would be prudent to "wait and see" what the motivations behind the Chinese actions were.

Lowe, echoing analysts, said it was also important to note that the current amount of coal reportedly blocked by Dalian was small.

In Beijing, the foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that Chinese customs were "conducting risk detection and analysis work on imported coal to ensure their safety and quality".

"The objective of this is to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese importers and to protect the environment," he said.

Coal shipped from Australia to Dalian Ports accounts for about 10 percent of Australia's exports of the commodity to China, and only two percent of overall exports. (AP)