China Energy Investment Corp has placed an order to import Australian coal, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, in one of the first deals since Beijing eased an unofficial ban imposed on coal imports from Australia in 2020.

The move comes as relations between Beijing and Canberra are thawing, and as China is trying to meet growing demand for coal because of higher power consumption following the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.

China Energy's cargo is likely to be loaded before the end of this month, the sources said, without providing further details. The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

China Energy did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Sudarshan Varadhan; Additional reporting by Beijing bureau, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Byron Kaye in Sydney; Writing by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Florence Tan and Christian Schmollinger)