When Li Keqiang visited Shanghai, he said that electricity is the driving force of economic operation. (Image source: Getty Images)
[See China News on November 25, 2021](See a comprehensive report by Chinese reporter Wen Long) Chinese PremierLi KeqiangWhen I visited Shanghai, I said that the electricity iseconomyOperational power, do everything possible to ensure people’s livelihood and the normal production and use of electricity by enterprises.Since the Beijing authorities retaliated against Australia by means of trade last year, they have quietly opened up recently.Australian CoalCustoms clearance.
According to China’s state media CCTV reported on November 23, Li Keqiang inspected Shanghai Waigaoqiao No. 3 Power Generation Company. He said, “Electricity is the driving force of economic operation, and measures must be taken to ensure people’s livelihood and the normal production and use of electricity by enterprises.”
Li Keqiang emphasized that governments at all levels should further strengthen their support to ensure a stable supply of electric coal, solve the problem of power shortages in some places, and prevent new power curtailments and production shutdowns.
China’s economic growth is now facing more headwinds, including sluggish consumption, sluggish domestic demand, declining demand for land caused by real estate developer debt, power cuts, and supply chain disruptions caused by the epidemic, all of which are thorny issues for the Beijing authorities.
Starting from the second quarter, China’s economic growth has taken a turn for the worse. Scholars believe that the reasons for the economic slowdown are related to the epidemic, electricity curtailment measures, and real estate crises.
Beijing authorities have repeatedly ordered coal mining companies to increase production capacity in recent months to ensure that energy can meet the demand for warmth in winter. The authorities also allow electricity tariffs to rise to incentivize power plants to continue generating electricity despite the surging coal prices. But it is undeniable that the increase in electricity prices will affect all industries. If the increase is too fast or too large, the costs of all industries will inevitably rise, and consumers will eventually bear it.
The Beijing authorities’ policy is “one size fits all”. In the name of the dual energy consumption control policy, companies are required to implement sudden-brake blackouts and limit production. They also deny that the reduction of imported thermal coal has led to insufficient power plant reserves, so that power shortages have spread to people’s electricity consumption. It turned back and asked the major coal-producing provinces to fully exploit coal.
Inner Mongolia and Shanxi are the two provinces that have undertaken the largest tasks in this round of production increase. Among them, Inner Mongolia is dominated by open-pit mines. In particular, Mengdong coal mines mainly supply the three northeastern provinces, while Shanxi is dominated by underground mines. In the latest issue of Caijing magazine, according to a reporter’s visit to representative coal mines in the two places in October, it is not easy to guarantee the supply.
Coal production has its own industrial laws. These tight spells make it difficult for coal production capacity to increase significantly in the short term, and coal companies can only do their best to ensure supply under multiple regulatory constraints.
A person in charge of a large coal company sighed, “This is not going to the supermarket to buy things, you can take it away if you have money; if there is nothing, money is useless.”
In addition, when Li Keqiang presided over the executive meeting of the State Council in October, he said that since the beginning of this year, energy prices in the international market have risen sharply, and domestic power and coal supply and demand continue to be tight. Various factors have led to recent power cuts in some places, which will impair normal economic operation and residents’ lives. have influence on.
Li Keqiang said that the pressure on the supply and demand of electricity and coal is still great this winter and next spring, and emphasized that ensuring energy security and ensuring the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain are important contents of the “six guarantees”.
From the data point of view, Li Keqiang also quietly changed his policy. One year after the “Australian Coal Prohibition Order”, Australian coal customs clearance was opened for the first time.
US analysis agency Wood Mackenzie estimated last month that there were approximately 5 million tons of Australian coking coal and 3 million tons of thermal coal in Chinese ports awaiting customs clearance.
However, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, China imported 2.79 million tons of Australian coal in October. This is the first customs clearance since China banned the import of Australian coal in nearly a year. And most of these coals are thermal coals with high calorific value, and also include 778,000 tons of coking coal used in steel plants.
With Australia’s request for tracing the source of the COVID-19 virus last year, Sino-Australian relations have deteriorated, and the Beijing authorities have retaliated against Australia by means of trade, including coal, lobster, and red wine, which have become victims of the trade war. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the last time Australian coal was imported was in November 2020.
On November 24, Radio Free Asia reported that Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, said in an interview that the increase in winter power demand and the impact of the international epidemic on orders have caused China to make up for the gap in domestic coal supply. He said: “Under this situation, (China) has to make such concessions. This is a very practical situation…(China) overestimates its own strength.”
Editor in charge: Xin He Source: Look at China
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