For the first-half of the year, China brought in a total of 154 million tonnes of the fuel, up 5.8% from same period in 2018, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Beijing has asked coal miners, especially the big ones in the western regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, to step up production of high-quality coal to meet increasing demand over the summer, when some people crank up their air conditioning.