Chinese coal (Shanxi, Inner Mongolia)

China accounts for about half of world coal production, concentrated in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. This base powers a large share of its electricity and steelmaking ; any mining or logistics disruption feeds through to world prices and Asian imports. The country is also the largest coal importer, tying its domestic swings to the Australian, Indonesian and Russian markets. The half share is confirmed by the IEA (2024) ; the exact tonnage remains an estimate.