Chinese Government Warns of Continued Energy
Shortages
The Chinese government projects continued energy shortages
in the near future, and has warned the public and industry
that the shortages may well become more severe. These
warnings came during the meeting of the National People's
Congress in Beijing.
NPC meetings are usually reserved for major policy statements
and legislation; it's unusual for major problems to be
brought to the table. In this case, it is necessary because
energy shortages, especially on China's
eastern seaboard, are something which the Chinese
population in general, and manufacturers in particular,
have had to put up with.
The strong demand for energy has exerted a clear influence
on China's
foreign policy, and has pushed gasoline prices to
new heights, with the price of a barrel of Brent crude
hitting more than $54 on international spot markets in
the past week. Economists and energy analysts think that
because of the strong demand from China, and now India,
prices will stay high.
In China, the demand for coal is so strong that the
coal industry has to operate at peak production capacity,
even when there are record numbers of coal-mining accidents.
Coal prices are so high that coal companies are unwilling
to slow down production enough to introduce more stringent
safety measures.
Now, there is emphasis on more energy efficient use
of energy. Since many older plants are inefficient and
are severe polluters, there has been pressure to introduce
newer high-tech plants.
There was also a call to create a new Energy Ministry,
since the present Energy Commission serves under the
National Development and Reform Commission, and only
has a staff of 20. Presumably, an Energy Ministry would
have a cabinet-level head.
China's strong demand for energy has caught the whole
world by surprise. These admissions about China's energy
policy show that no one was as surprised by the unprecedented
demand as the Chinese government.
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