China imported a total of 16.078 million tons of coal in January, surging 438.3 percent from the same month last year. The amount was the second largest after the 16.385 million tons of imports last December, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs.

While China's coal reserves rank first in the world, companies still seek coal from abroad. Insiders attributed the import surge to domestic coal giants' unwillingness to lower prices, thus forcing thermal power plants to find alternative sources.

Southern regions like Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province prefer to import coal from the Philippines or Malaysia as the shipping fee from the southeast Asian nations to south China is less than from the Qinhuangdao Port in the coal-abundant north China.

Li Chengren, a senior researcher at the State Grid Energy Research Institute, said the high coal prices put enormous pressures on power companies, while the latter are already in a weakened position. Li said coal importing will become a trend.