China is planning to kill off its reliance on Australia's biggest export iron ore as tensions over Taiwan intensify.
Australia continues to provide more than two-thirds of the world's iron ore, with Brazil struggling since the Vale tailings dam collapse in early 2019.
But China is the world's third biggest supplier of the commodity used to make steel.
While Australia continues to have monthly trade surpluses - where exports are worth more than imports - its biggest trading partner wants to change that with a key government adviser calling on China to provide a lot more of its own iron ore.
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China is planning to kill off its reliance on Australia's biggest export iron ore as tensions over Taiwan intensify. Australia continues to provide more than two-thirds of the world's iron ore, with Brazil struggling since the Vale tailings dam collapse in early 2019 (pictured is a Fortescue Metals Group dump truck at Port Hedland in Western Australia's Pilbara region)
A series of Chinese trade sanctions on Australia, ranging from wine to beef and barley, have so far failed.
In the September quarter, Australia had a record current account surplus of $23.9billion, despite a collapse in iron ore prices as China cut back on steel production.
During that month, Australia exported $15.4 billion worth of iron ore, but this was 15.9 per cent lower than the $18.3 billion in August, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
China's average daily output of steel fell to a three-year low in September, plunging by an annual pace of 21.2 per cent, the China Iron and Steel Association confirmed this week.
Property giant Evergrande's debt woes and stricter Chinese government rules targeting apartment builders have diminished demand for iron ore from Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Since July, the spot price
