The coal ban reshaped energy markets and showed how Beijing’s efforts to use its economy as a foreign-policy tool can have limits. China effectively ended a ban on Australian coal that has been a centerpiece of a diplomatic dispute lasting more than two years, in the latest indication that Beijing is taking a less confrontational approach in its foreign policy as the economy struggles. Customs officials in the southern province of Guangdong on Thursday received notice from the local government that they can clear Australian coal shipments, two people familiar with the situation said. The move comes about a week after the country’s national planning agency permitted a group of large state-owned companies to buy Australian coal again. The Guangdong government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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