It's likely that northern winter would drive up thermal coal...

It's likely that northern winter would drive up thermal coal demand, and price increase may give WHC some breath space; though I wouldn't count on China lifting import restrictions after Christmas.

My observations are:
1) China has world's 3rd largest coal reserve, and local coal production would boost employment numbers.
2) While WHC is at breakeven point (or losing money), Chinese miners are still making significant profits. WHC has a cost base of A$75 per tonne ex D&A, this does not compare well to Yanzhou Coal (Yancoal's parent), which has a cost base of ~RMB200 / A$40. Other miners can produce as cheap as A$20 per tonne ex D&A. - DYOR
3) Coal fired power stations is still making money at RMB500/A$100 mark. This means economy is likely NOT suffering from higher coal pricing

What I see is that China actually benefits from restricting coal imports. Price discrepancy would not have led to more sales to China, for WHC IMO.