Well folks, I apologize for the lack of posts for a while.  I recently received some news that has occupied almost all my attention as of late (and into the next 18 months, most likely).  It turns out that the ChinaCoalWatcher will soon also be one of the myriad Afghanistan-Terrorist-Watchers deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  I cannot provide much more detail than that for obvious prudent reasons.

At any rate, there hasn't been much China Coal news lately except for some expected (And CCW predicted!) developments regarding the drop of export subsidies and import taxes on certain energy-intensive commodities and the steady and slow (but perhaps accelerating) appreciation of the Yuan to the dollar.  China, of course, spins this as "economy normalization", but it has more to do with the financial and inflationary pressures of sustaining inefficient market manipulations.

All in all, these developments are positive insofar as they help to reduce the massive trade imbalances of the last decade and, to a certain extent, make China more reliant on both imports and exports in global trade and, perhaps, more cooperative and flexible in resolving international financial issues.

I still say, oil is the key.  As China dramatically increases imports of petroleum to feed it's swelling fleet of light and heavy vehicles, the pressure to properly value the Yuan upward can force even a potential superpower's hand.