China's coking coal imports experienced a flat V-shaped trend in 2025, and Mongolia and Russia continued to dominate China's coking coal imports, with these two countries maintaining leading positions.

China imported a total of 120 million tonnes of coking coal in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 3.0% or 3.63 million tonnes. The total import value was $12.07 billion, down 35% from the previous year. The average import price was at $101.7/t, marking a 50.1% decrease from the previous year.

In the first half (H1) of 2025, China imported a total of 52.82 million tonnes of coking coal, down 8.0% year on year. However, the imports in H2 reached 65.8 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%. Since August, coking coal imports consistently remained above 10 million tonnes per month, and December saw a record volume of 13.77 million tonnes.

In H1, there were fewer disruptions in domestic production, and demand was weak. The supply-demand balance and falling domestic coking coal prices made imported coal less cost-competitive, resulting in suppressed demand.

However, factors such as overproduction inspections led to tightened domestic supply since the start of the third quarter, and domestic coking coal prices surged. This created cost advantages for imported coal, leading to an expansion in imports, especially towards the end of the year when Mongolia's coal exports surged.

Throughout 2025, China's coking coal imports continued to come from diverse sources. Imports of Canadian coking coal saw a noticeable increase, while Mongolian and Russian coals remained dominant in the import structure.

Due to trade friction, U.S. coking coal gradually withdrew from the Chinese market in 2025. With the increase in tariffs on U.S. coking coal starting in May, imports from the U.S. were zeroed out. The share of U.S. coal in China's coking coal imports dropped from 9% in 2024 to 2% in 2025.

In 2025, 51% of China's coking coal imports came from Mongolia, at 60.07 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%. The import value was $4.45 billion, a 37.3% decrease from the previous year, and the average import price was $74.1/t, down by $51/t.

Russia exported 32.76 million tonnes of coking coal to China, up 7.4%, accounting for 28% of China's total imports. The import value was $3.42 billion, down 21.9% on the year, with an average price of $104.5/t, down by $39.2/t. Russia's coal exports were primarily directed towards Asia last year, amid continued Western sanctions.

In addition, in 2025, China's imports of coking coal from Canada increased by 19.6%, reaching 10.80 million tonnes, accounting for 9% of total imports. In contrast, the lack of price advantage led to a 14.5% decrease in imports of Australian coking coal, totaling 8.86 million tonnes, accounting for 7% of the total.

In December 2025, China's coking coal imports reached a record high of 13.77 million tonnes, up 28.6% from the same period last year and up 28.3% from the previous month. Of this, 6.72 million tonnes came from Mongolia, jumping 59.1% on the year and up 7.6% on the month, setting a new monthly record.