China is likely to issue official standards to regulate commercial coal quality in the foreseeable future, Jiang Zhimin, vice-chairman of China National Coal Association said at a press conference held on January 15.<br /> <br /> The relevant document has been formulated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration and will be released in the near future, according to Jiang.<br /> <br /> The standards are considered by most insiders as the previous restrictions on low-quality coal import, which the government has been mulling over for months.<br /> <br /> In mid-December, the NDRC issued a draft standard for opinion solicitation which stipulated restrictive measures on imports of low-grade coal. According to the draft, Chinese buyers would be prohibited to import lignite with net calorific value below 16.50 MJ/kg or 3946 Kcal/kg, or other coal varieties with net calorific value below 18 MJ/kg or 4300 Kcal/kg.<br /> <br /> If implemented, that could impact some 80-100 million tonnes or 1/3 of China’s total coal imports, industry insiders have said.<br /> <br /> <p> China’s coal imports climbed 13.38% year on year to 327.1 million tonnes in 2013, customs data showed. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140122/20140122162553_1035.jpg" alt="" /> </p>