September 21 (China Daily) –
NEW YORK
- A high-ranking UN official on Sunday praised
China
for its efforts in saving energy and called President Hu Jintao's upcoming
appearance at the UN climate change summit a "strong signal" sent to
the world.
Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), made the remark during an event to designate Brazilian-born
supermodel Gisele Bundchen as a Goodwill Ambassador of the organization to
inspire action to protect the environment.
It is part of a series of activities being held during the Global
Climate Week, which coincides with the UN summit on climate change to encourage
world leaders to seal a fair and effective climate deal at the UN Copenhagen
conference in December.
"Just in the last few years I have seen tremendous efforts by
China
on energy efficiency," Steiner told China Daily, pointing to the country's
policies at reducing energy usage and investing in renewable energy. He also
pointed out that
China
has become the world's largest wind power producer this year.
According to government statistics,
China
is well on its way to
achieving its target of cutting energy use per unit of GDP by 20 percent by
2010, which will prevent about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide from being
released into the atmosphere.
The country's per capita greenhouse gas emissions stood at 3.58 tons
in 2004.
China
has also set the goal of raising the proportion of renewable energy
in its total energy mix from 7 percent to 10 percent during its Five-Year Plan
(2006-10).
Because of its competitiveness in renewable energy, Steiner said he
believed
China
will benefit from a global agreement on low-carbon economy because the country
has the "industries, technologies and a role to play in the global
marketplace" in the years to come.
As for President Hu's attendance at the UN summit on climate change,
Steiner called it "a tremendously powerful signal" because it will be
the first time that a top Chinese leader addresses the UN on the environment.
"He will speak about what
China
is doing … In principle there
will be a very powerful message from President Hu," said Steiner.
Despite the slow progress made in negotiations on climate change,
Steiner expressed the hope that a final deal will be reached in
Copenhagen
later this
year.
"The world will not forgive us if we don't make a deal,"
he said. "We have the science, we have the technology, we have the
policies. We need courage, leadership and solidarity among nations to reach a
meaning deal."
During Sunday's event, Bundchen, the face of some of the world's
most exclusive products, now becomes the face of global environmental action.
As a goodwill ambassador, she will help UNEP in its mission to raise
awareness about the environment.
"Together we will make a difference, and we have to take
responsibility", said Bundchen to a cheering crowd. "This is our
planet. It's our job as civilians to do our part. We can make it happen."
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/21/content_8716207.htm )
September 14 (China
Daily) –Today, the
U.S.
and
China
have an opportunity to
collaborate on a project of enormous bilateral and global significance: to lay the
foundation for a vibrant and sustainable clean technology future. While the agreement that the
U.S.
and
China
signed at the recent
Strategic and Economic Dialogue raises some questions, that tentative start
should not undermine the larger work of harnessing our collective strengths to
foster the rapid, market-driven commercialization and adoption of the most
promising clean technologies in and around the world.
Such a cooperative effort is both laudable and achievable—and long
overdue. Today, both
China
and the
U.S.
are heavily dependent on
foreign oil and together account for almost half of the world’s carbon
emissions. Moreover, each of our
countries is showing real progress on a number of the most promising technology
fronts, including wind power, carbon capture and sequestration, and “smart
grid” electricity transmission. While there
are real issues in managing economic competition and interdependence in this
promising growth industry, it’s also clear that we can do more together than we
can alone, and that our combined efforts would powerfully accelerate the clean
tech future.
To achieve this future in a meaningful way, a few practical steps need
to be taken by both governments. As an
initial matter, our governments should stipulate that their role is not to pick
winners or protect domestic champions, but to create the framework and
conditions for an open, functioning and competitive clean-technology
market. For this to happen, our
governments should focus on accomplishing three concrete tasks.
First, each government should seek to eliminate arbitrary regulatory
barriers to U.S.-China commercial high technology trade and work to advance
common global technology standards. In
the past,
China
has sharply
criticized
U.S.
export
controls, despite the fact that those controls apply to less than 1% of all
high technology trade with
China
. However, to the extent that even those modest
controls are not supported by legitimate
U.S.
security or foreign policy
interests, they should be reexamined and eliminated, if appropriate. Despite widespread perceptions in
China
to the contrary, the good news here is
that no such export controls apply to the export of
U.S.
commercial clean technology to
China
.
Second,
China
should continue to strengthen its efforts to develop a world-class intellectual
property rights system. Many leading
non-Chinese companies want to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities in the
China
clean technology sector. However, many
such companies remain hesitant to share the know-how to develop the most
promising technologies because of their concern over
China
’s commitment to enforce
intellectual property rights and norms. In fact, this self-exclusion by companies from the
China
market is one of the most
significant constraints to U.S.-China high technology trade, and is a far more
consequential “barrier” than export controls. Although China has demonstrated an increased commitment to protecting
the intellectual property of foreign companies operating within its borders in
the past few years (e.g., through a marked increase in IP-related criminal
prosecutions), greater IP enforcement efforts are still needed, particularly if
the aim is to encourage U.S. companies to bring advanced clean technologies
into China.
China
can also strengthen the
perception of its commitment to IPR protection -- and thereby incentivize
international firms to bring their sophisticated products into the Chinese
market -- by abandoning its call for the compulsory licensing of clean
technologies. After all, maintaining a
vigorous intellectual property regime is not only important for foreign companies;
it will become increasingly important to Chinese investors and entrepreneurs as
they themselves develop cutting-edge technology products and services.
Third, both the
U.S.
and
China
should avoid the siren’s call of protectionism. It is appropriate for countries, including the
U.S.
and
China
, to regulate inbound foreign
direct investment for national security reasons. However, the sole standard for this review
should be national security—and nothing else. In every case, the process should be objectively reasonable, equitable
to similarly situated parties, and as streamlined and transparent as such a
national security review can reasonably allow.
Moreover, both governments should avoid favoring domestic technologies
or players over foreign companies. For
example,
China
has
implemented an effective 40 percent tariff on clean-coal technologies --
thereby keeping promising clean-energy technologies out of
China
. And while WTO rules ban countries from using
local content requirements to force companies to set up factories in a country
instead of exporting to it,
China
has never signed the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement despite promises
to do so. As a result, many companies in
China
’s
power industry, most of which are majority-owned by the Chinese government,
remain largely exempt from the relevant international trade rules in this
area. This has enabled China to impose
local content requirements in the clean tech sector – for example, by requiring
that wind turbines have 70% local content (a regulation which led many European
turbine manufacturers to build factories in China) and that at least 80% of the
equipment be made in China for the first Chinese solar power plant.
Other rules are also making it hard for foreign manufacturers and
investors to compete in
China
.
While
China
’s
renewable energy standards require that renewable energy account for a certain
minimum percentage of the generating capacity of each large power company, the
rules do not dictate how much electricity must actually be generated from that
capacity. Therefore, power companies
have an incentive to buy the cheapest wind turbines available to increase their
renewable energy capacity - even if the turbines break down frequently and do
not produce that much electricity. Because
turbines from Chinese-owned companies tend to have slightly lower purchase
prices than foreign-brand turbines, local manufacturers are favored over
foreign firms. Financial regulations for
wind farms also make it harder for foreign-owned wind farms than domestic-owned
ones to borrow money or to sell carbon credits.
Both
China
and the
U.S.
should work for an open, transparent and level-playing field so that companies
of any origin can develop clean tech products and services based on market
competition and product performance. Subsidizing domestic companies and denying multinational companies
competitive access to local markets and government procurement contracts runs
counter to the clean-tech trade cooperation both countries should commit to.
By taking concrete steps now, our governments can do two important
things simultaneously: lay the foundation for a clean tech future that the
world wants and needs, and begin to write the next constructive chapter in one
of the most important bilateral relationships in the world.
The Hon. Mario Mancuso is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &
Feld, LLP, an international law firm that opened its
Beijing
office in 2007. He previously served as a senior U.S. Defense
Department official (2005-07) and as
U.S.
Under Secretary of Commerce
(Industry and Security), U.S. Chair of the U.S.-China High Technology and
Strategic Trade Working Group, and member of the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States (2007-09).
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bw/2009-09/14/content_8686919.htm )
China
on road to low carbon technologies
September 10 (China Daily) –Despite
the global economic downturn,
China
is fast becoming the world leader in the race to develop and commercialize low
carbon technologies, amid the efforts to slow down the global warming, a new
report by the London-based Climate Group has found.
With ambitious government
policies and a new breed of entrepreneurs, Chinese businesses are among the top
producers of electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels and energy
efficient appliances, the report found.
Last year, the downturn hurt
China
's
exports of renewable and low-carbon technologies and provided new impetus for
expanding its domestic markets.
The Chinese government's
4-trillion-yuan (US$ 585 billion) stimulus package puts strong emphasis on
clean development and is backed by many new regulations and policies focused on
increasing the uptake of low carbon technologies.
Low carbon vehicles, energy
efficiency in industry, renewable energy and low carbon buildings and urban
design are the four key areas of
China
's low carbon economy. And,
each of the four areas witnessed solid progress, the report found.
With car sales in
China
surpassing that in the
US
for the first time in January
2009, the country is now both the world's largest auto market and the third
largest producer, but most vehicles are still powered by gasoline and diesel.
Rapid demand growth creates an
urgent imperative to accelerate the development of electric vehicles (EVs),
fuel-cell vehicles and other forms of low carbon transport. Thirteen Chinese
cities have signed up to a government scheme to purchase a total of 13,000 EVs
this year.
China
aim's to manufacture half a million EVs in 2011.
The energy intensity of the
Chinese economy has already fallen by over 60 percent since 1980, and the
government has set a goal of reducing it by a further 20 percent between 2005
and 2010. Although fossil fuels, notably coal, still provide the bulk of
China
's
power, an aggressive push is underway to replace inefficient power stations
with efficient super-critical technology.
China
is already one of the world's
largest users of supercritical and ultra-supercritical generation technology,
with 150 of these units already in operation.
Government policies including
fiscal incentives and credit support are helping to shape an energy-saving
market that could already be worth 800 billion yuan and which is expected to
grow substantially over the next decade, the report estimated.
China
has also raised its mid- and long-term
targets for renewable energy, to meet the rapid development of the green
industries.
By 2020, new energy is expected
to constitute 17 percent of the country's power supply - to the tune of 290
million kilowatts. Of this, 86 million kilowatts will come from nuclear power,
150 million from wind, 20 million from solar power, and 30 million from
bio-energy.
The growth of installed wind
turbines in
China
is faster than anywhere else, with wind power generation capacity topping 12
million kW in 2008 - a figure that is doubling each year.
China
is also the world's largest
producer and consumer of solar water heaters, accounting for 65 percent of
installations; and, 95 percent of core technology patents on solar water heaters
were developed by Chinese companies. Penetration of photovoltaic (PV) solar
power has also shown rapid growth, as have geothermal energy and bio-fuels.
The government has also set
ambitious energy conservation targets for new buildings, promoting low carbon
building materials and renewable energy, especially solar.
Many successful low carbon
buildings, for residential, commercial and public use have been completed, with
several entire 'eco-cities' in advanced stages of planning. The government has
also announced a large-scale promotion project for energy efficient lighting,
with the aim of distributing 100 million subsidized bulbs in 2009.
The report also pointed out the
barriers for
China
to realize its low carbon economy.
China
is struggling hard to catch
up with international peers and to move from lower-end to higher-end
technology, but gaps still exist.
Creative, market-based financing
mechanisms are also required. It is estimated that
China
will need to invest 1.8
trillion yuan every year to meet its energy conservation and emissions
reduction goals.
"It's a 70-30 situation. We
have 70 percent of the solutions today, but they are not all proven
technologies and none are of the scale we need. Thirty percent of the solutions
will be found in the future. Therefore we still need foreign investment to
drive the revolution." Said Wu Changhua, Greater
China
Director at The Climate
Group.
As both a major emitter and
provider of solutions to climate change,
China
's role at the heart of the
international climate negotiations is essential to their success and their
ability to accelerate the transition to a prosperous low carbon global economy.
Avoid "green bubble"
Some entrepreneurs and policy
makers have also warned of the risks of a "green bubble."
At the end of last month,
China
's
State Council, the Cabinet, has warned of overcapacity in emerging sectors such
as wind power. The country would move to "guide" development troubled
by overcapacity and redundant projects, said the statement issued by an
executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.
Yang Lei, chairman of Vantage
Point Venture Partners, a private equity focusing on renewable energies, also
observed overheated investment in green sectors.
"The global economic crisis
has shifted their investment plan, and now investors believe that it is safe to
put money in the green sectors. But too much money has resulted in an
intensified competition, which is not good for a burgeoning industry,"
said Yang.
And, the country's power grid
development plan is falling behind that of the renewable energy, becoming a
major stumbling block for the smooth growth of the industry, according to Wang
Guangtao, director of the NPC's environment and resource protection committee.
For instance, areas rich in wind
power resources are mainly concentrated in the remote northwest, northeast and
southeast, where the power transmission network is poorly constructed, Wang
said.
But the scale of renewable
energies is over-expanding in some areas despite the lack of necessary infrastructure
to collect the electricity.
More than 20 percent of the
country's wind power machines did not generate any electricity last year
because the equipment was not yet connected to the grid, according to officials
from the China Wind Energy Association.
Zhang Yue, chairman of Broad Air
Conditioning, also said that the investors should pour the money into real
"green" sectors. "We need to decide what are the real low-carbon
products, the assessment should be based on the whole life cycle," he
said.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009summerdavos/2009-09/10/content_8675082.htm)
September 2 (China Daily) - China
Shenhua Energy Company, the nation's top coal producer, said Tuesday that
China
has begun to implement plans to create its first national strategic coal
reserve, the Jinghua Times reported.
A series of brutal snow storms in 2008 severely affected the production
and transport of coal for generating electricity, and as a result, many
provinces had power supply problems. Plans to create the new reserve are part
of an effort to avoid similar problems.
Zhang Xiwu, Shenhua's chairman, said that Shenhua is now selecting sites
and the total planned reserve will be around 30 million tons.
A coal market analyst with the China Coal Trade and Development
Association, Li Chaolin, said, a reserve of 20 to 30 million tons is still big
enough to stabilize the market when it faces a short term shortage of coal,
even though the country's national demand is much, much larger than that.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/02/content_8647493.htm )
China
likely to cut
energy use per unit of GDP by 5% this year
September 27 (Xinhua) - China is
possible to reduce its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product
(GDP) by 5 percent this year, but arduous tasks remain to fulfill the pledge of
20 percent cut by 2010, said Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Sunday.
In the first half of this year,
energy consumption per unit of GDP was down 3.35 percent, and the emissions of sulfur
dioxide and COD were down by 5.4 percent and 2.46 percent respectively.
China
has made real efforts to preserve energy in
the fight against climate change, said Xie, the country's top representative in
international climate change negotiations at a press co
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/27/content_12116602.htm )
September 16 (China Daily) - A strong shift towards renewable
energies could create 2.7 million more jobs in power generation worldwide by
2030 than staying with dependence on fossil fuels would, a report suggested on
Monday.
The study, by environmental group Greenpeace and the European
Renewable Energy Council (EREC), urged governments to agree on a strong new
United Nations pact to combat climate change in December in
Copenhagen
, partly to safeguard employment.
"A switch from coal to renewable electricity generation will
not just avoid 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, but will create 2.7
million more jobs by 2030 than if we continue business as usual," the
report said.
Governments were often wrong to fear that a shift to green energy
was a threat to jobs, said Sven Teske, lead author of the report at Greenpeace.
He said that the wind turbine industry was already the second largest steel
consumer in
Germany
after cars.
"Renewable power industries can create a lot of jobs," he
told Reuters of the outlook for solar, wind, tidal, biomass - such as wood and
crop waste - and other renewable energies in power generation. "This
research proves that renewable energy is key to tackling both the climate and
economic crises," said Christine Lins, Secretary General of EREC, which
represents clean energy industries.
Assuming strong policies to shift to renewables, the study projected
that the number of jobs in power generation would rise by more than 2 million
to 11.3 million in 2030, helped by a surge in renewables jobs to 6.9 million
from 1.9 million.
Under a scenario of business as usual, the number of jobs in power
generation would fall by about half a million to 8.6 million by 2030, hit
mainly by a decline in the coal sector due to wider mechanization.
Teske said that the report was not advocating creation of millions
of jobs in uncompetitive labor-intensive clean energy industries propped up by
government subsidies.
"Renewables must be competitive in the long run," he said.
Labor costs would be higher but costs to drive a renewable power industry would
be lower, for instance, in a world where it cost ever more to emit carbon
dioxide from fossil fuels.
The report said that, for the first time in 2008, both the
United States
and the European Union added more capacity from renewable energies than from
conventional sources including gas, coal and nuclear power.
The report suggested the wind sector alone, for instance, could
employ 2.03 million people in generating power in 2030 against about 0.5
million in 2010.
"The union movement, as well as the authors of this report,
believe ambitious climate action by world leaders can and must be a driver for
sustainable economic growth and social progress," Guy Ryder, General
Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement.
The report was based partly on research by the Institute for
Sustainable Futures at the
University
of
Technology Sydney
.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-09/16/content_8699086.htm )
September 10 (Xinhua)
-- The Hong Kong government Thursday launched a Pilot Tripartite Scheme on
Energy Saving to help non-government organizations (NGOs) to implement energy
efficiency measures in their buildings or premises.
The pilot scheme is
jointly organized by the Environmental Protection Department, the Hong Kong
Council of Social Service, the Hongkong Electric Co Ltd and CLP Power Hong Kong
Ltd.
A spokesman for the
department said the scheme aims to provide the current energy audit services of
the two power companies to 20 appropriate recipient NGOs.
Through this
exercise, the opportunities for enhancement of energy efficiency and
conservation can be identified and the NGOs will be encouraged to upgrade the
energy efficiency performance of their buildings and offices through
implementing the audit recommendations, he explained.
The scheme will
enable the recipient NGOs to save energy and cost as well as help cut down
greenhouse gas emissions. It also complements the Buildings Energy Efficiency
Schemes which were launched earlier this year that targeted at enhancing the
energy efficiency of communal areas within residential, commercial and
industrial buildings.
More than 100 NGOs
had submitted applications and 20 of them were selected by a panel of judges
having regard to the energy saving potential of their premises or buildings,
corporate governance, scope and scale of operation and size of the
organization.
In the next three months, the two power companies will begin to
conduct on-site energy audits for the recipient NGOs.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/10/content_12030529.htm )
China
to produce
12m
vehicles in 2009
September
5 (Xinhua) -- China is forecast to produce 12 million units of vehicles for the
whole year of 2009, to set a record high, an official with the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning agency,
said in Beijing Saturday.
Chinese
domestic auto makers were expected to produce and sell more than 8 million
units of vehicles in the first eight months this year respectively, said Chen
Bin, director of the Department of Industry under the NDRC.
The
government's stimulus plan for the auto industry formulated this year had
achieved great success in terms of boosting domestic demand and ensuring the
industry growth, he said at the on-going 2009 International Forum on Chinese
Automotive Industry Development held in
Tianjin
.
Sales
of
China
's
domestically-made automobiles totaled 1.09 million units in July, up 63.57
percent from a year earlier, the fifth month in a row that saw auto sales
exceed one million units, according to the China Association of Automobile
Manufacturers.
Chen
said the government's measure to halve the purchase tax on small-capacity cars
had boosted the development of the country's small-engine vehicle sector.
China
cut the purchase tax on passenger cars to 5 percent for models with
engine displacements of less than 1.6 liters in January.
However,
he warned that the growth pace of
China
's auto industry might be
slower in the following years and there might be risks of over-capacity, adding
that domestic auto makers should focus on research and development on
energy-saving, environment-friendly new energy vehicles for enterprises'
sustainable development.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/05/content_8659370.htm )
September 8 (China
Daily) - Domestic passenger vehicle sales hit a new record high in August,
nearly doubling over last year, far beyond industry expectations.
It is also the first time
the monthly sales in August is the highest in the year.
"The booming
sales in August has surpassed even the boldest prediction in the industry, as
previously sales in August are normally the weakest in the whole year,"
said Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary-general of the National Passenger Car
Information Exchange Association.
According to the
association, passenger vehicle sales, including cars, MPV (multi-purpose
vehicle), SUV (sports-utility vehicle) and minivans, soared to 849,376 units in
August, up 94.7 percent year-on-year.
Nearly 621,110 sedans
were sold during the period, an increase of 84.2 percent from a year ago, while
MPV and SUV sales grew 52.6 percent and 119 percent to 19,241 and 62,467 units
respectively.
The domestic sales
miracle should not be attributed alone to the government stimulus package, but
also to the robust natural demand, which reflects
China
's rapid growing economy, Cui
said.
He also predicted the
market would continue to record brisk sales this month, estimated at around 870,000
units on a conservative basis. For the full year passenger car sales are
expected to reach 9.6 million units.
Chen Bin, chief
director of the industry coordination department of the National Development
and Reform Commission, said at a forum over the weekend that automobile sales
in
China
may grow 28 percent over last year to reach 12 million this year.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/08/content_8665317.htm )
China
to boost electric
vehicles
September 7 (China Daily) --
China
will
invest more to boost research and application of new energy vehicles especially
electric vehicles, Wan Gang, minister of technology, said at the 2009
International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development held from Sep 4
-6 in
Tianjin
.
Sustainable
development of the auto industry is the common goal of all the country’s auto
manufacturers and the auto market. The government will work out stricter
emission controls and fuel consumption standards to advocate
environmentally-friendly vehicle technologies and make sure that the emission
control and fuel consumption efficiency of the country’s vehicles will be among
the best in the world by 2020, he said.
China
has the world’s largest market for electric vehicles. Experts
believe new energy vehicles are one of the best ways to handle an energy
shortage and cut carbon emissions, two big challenges for the nation.
Wan
also expressed his confidence in
China
’s electric vehicles. The
country has mastered the core technologies in developing the vehicles after a
decade of effort and is leading in research and application of lithium ion
batteries.
Lithium
ion batteries' relatively high cost is currently an obstacle to widespread
commercialization of electric vehicles.
Tianjin
based Lishen Joint Stock Co is China's leading researcher and manufacturer of
lithium ion batteries and has been actively taking part in domestic projects
such as manufacturing the 50 hybrid power buses used in Tianjin during last
year's Beijing Olympic Games.
China
is the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. The
country has the world’s largest reserve of rare earth and second largest
reserve of lithium. Both are an indispensible material for producing the
vehicles.
Chinese
authorities have launched a campaign to promote electric vehicles in ten cities
in January this year. By 2012, 600,000 vehicles will go into operation. And the
government will keep prioritizing using electric vehicles in the public transport
network, he added.
New
energy vehicles have been the focus of the world’s auto industry in recent
years. Auto giants such as General Motors, Ford,
Toyota
and Volkswagen have eliminated their
high fuel consumption products and prioritized research on new energy vehicles.
Governments
of developed countries also released their plans to promote electric vehicles.
Japan
plans to invest annually 200 million
dollars into developing batteries for electric vehicles in the next five years
and
France
will invest 400 million euros in the next fours years into research on hybrid
power and electric vehicles.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/tianjin/e/2009-09/07/content_8663742.htm )
September
21 (China Daily) - In stark contrast to a year ago, light vehicle sales in
China
for the month of August were among the strongest for the year.
China
registered the lowest monthly vehicle sales for the year in August
2008 as the global recession took hold of consumer wallets.
With
the full effects of government stimulus efforts at work, sales of light
vehicles - passenger cars and commercial vehicles less than 6-tons - reached
1.1 million units in August, the second-highest monthly total for the year.
China
's August economic figures offered a positive signal. International
trade improved as both import and export of goods stopped declining. Investment
figures showed an upturn as did consumption figures. Asset, housing and stock
prices are all picking up. The consensus is growing that
China
's economy has bottomed out.
Strong
August vehicle sales, up 78 percent year on year, contributed to other positive
economic data and leaves
China
's
automotive market up 32 percent year-to-date in 2009.
Both
the passenger vehicle and light commercial vehicle segments enjoyed similar
growth rates. Sales of passenger vehicles jumped by 76 percent to 737,000 units
for the month, while light commercial vehicles increased by 81 percent to
338,000 units.
Adjusting
for seasonal differences, August light vehicle sales suggest an annual market
of 14 million units, matching the seasonally adjusted sales rate in July and up
significantly from the 8 million unit sales rate witnessed in January of this
year.
While
the recovery of
China
's
light vehicle sales from their January lows was initially dependent on
government tax incentives and subsidy policy, this is changing.
The
light vehicle sales boom today is less dependent on these two drivers. While
sales were strongest in the segments that enjoy the tax incentive, mini car,
sub-compact car and compact car, all other segments reported sale growth of
more than 50 percent in August.
The
MPV segment supported by the recovering economy and an increase in auto
financing managed to embrace the largest growth in August since July last year,
with a 58 percent rise, shifting its year-to-date growth rate from zero to
positive.
Sales
of minibuses declined for the fourth consecutive month as the demand seems to
have been met through implementation of the "go rural" policy.
Manufacturers
have started to expand their capacity to meet the rapid growth in vehicle
demand. GAC Honda's two plants began operating three shifts instead of two in
August with 1,200 more workers added. Chang'an Mazda has doubled monthly output
at its
Nanjing
plant by adding a second shift.
In
the long term, we see BAIC adding a new minibus production line at its Zhuzhou
plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 units by March 2010. Chang'an is
expanding capacity of its
Nanjing
plant with an investment of $15 million, which will double the annual capacity
to 200,000 units starting in 2010. Optimistic about the future, Geely is
building new plants in
Jinan
,
Shandong
province and in
Chengdu
,
Sichuan
province.
Not
all share this unbridled enthusiasm. The National Development and Reform
Committee has recommended that OEMs to be cautious with capacity expansion due
to the risk of slowing demand growth in the years ahead.
A divided
opinion seems to be the norm on
China
's
future. Government incentives have generated strong light vehicle demand, while
hot August sales across all segments along with positive economic news suggest
that a recovery is taking hold.
It's
uncertain whether the government will extend the tax incentive policy to next
year or carry out new stimulus measures. We also believe a payback is in order
for the stimulated demand growth in 2009. We maintain a cautious outlook for
passenger vehicle demand in 2010, with growth decelerating to a rate of 2 to 3
percent and for total light vehicle demand to match the 2009 total.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bw/2009-09/21/content_8713917.htm )
September 8 (Agencies)
- Volvo Cars Corp, which Chinese carmaker Geely Group wants to buy from Ford
Motor Co, is gathering steam this year in
China
as it strives to catch up
with bigger competitors.
The Sweden-based
company's China sales from January to August surged by 42 percent over the same
period of 2008 to 12,000 units, about the same as all of last year, Volvo Cars
China said in a statement to China Daily.
The company said the
strong performance was mainly due to the popularity of Volvo's flagship model,
the S
80L
sedan, which was put
into local production in March.
Combined sales of its
S
80L
and S80 models
soared by 150 percent over the first eight months of last year, Volvo Cars
China said, without revealing a specific sales figure.
Alexander Klose, CEO
of Volvo Cars China, said main drivers for the robust growth include the
company's deeper understanding of the local market, successful product
strategy, effective market program and its premium brand image.
"The successful
new product launches have gotten positive market feedback and the brand
promotion programs have boosted our premium image. We are confident that we
will be able to continue growth in the future," Klose said.
With the slogan "Volvo
For Life", the company started local production in 2006 when it launched
the S40 compact sedan at its parent Ford's joint venture with Chang'an Motor
Corp in the southwestern
municipality
of
Chongqing
.
It was a later
arrival than Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz - one of main reasons Volvo's sales in
China
trail its rivals. In the first half of this year, Audi and BMW moved more than
66,000 and 36,000 vehicles in
China
respectively.
Volvo's current
lineup in
China
also includes the imported XC60 and XC90 SUVs as well as C30 and C70 coupes. It
now has a total of 75 showrooms and sales stores across the nation .
The company said it
will continue to introduce new models and expand its sales networks.
Molly Tang, a senior
market analyst with Beijing Polk-Catarc Co, a
China
unit of
US
auto consultancy
R L Polk & Co, said Volvo is strategically shifting its priority from
Western markets to
China
,
which is a rare bright spot in the world's gloomy auto industry, especially in
the premium car sector.
"Volvo leads in
auto safety and it has potential to further grow and move closer to bigger
rivals in
China
.
But it needs to speed up localization of its products to tailor to the need of
Chinese buyers," Tang said.
Indicating its
growing understanding of the Chinese market, Volvo has done well in
localization of the S
80L
as
it extended the model's wheelbase by
140mm
to meet local demand for roomier sedans. The model is available only in
China
.
Audi and BMW have
already provided longer-wheelbase models in
China
. Mercedes will also launch a
long-wheelbase C-Class sedan in
China
before the end of next year.
Industry research
firm JD Power & Associates predicts that luxury vehicles sales in
China
will double to 600,000 units a year by 2015 from 2008.
To strengthen its
"new bold, impassioned and refined" brand image, Volvo has carried
out an aggressive marketing strategy this year in
China
while other brands drop part
of the sector due to the ongoing global financial crunch.
Its main marketing
programs this year include China debut of the Volvo Ocean Race in February, the
15th Volvo China Tennis Open in April, full lineup display at Shanghai motor
show in April, launching of the Volvo Social Elite Club in July and complete
line-up test drive for customers and media across 20 Chinese cities last month.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bw/2009-09/07/content_8660789.htm )
Beijing
bans high-emission motor vehicles
September
2 (Xinhua) -- A ban on the entry to
Beijing
of high-emission motor vehicles came into force on Tuesday. It is the latest
step by
Beijing
to address growing concerns about air pollution as the number of cars in the
capital now totals 3.7 million.
The
ban, issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on July 28, forbids
petrol vehicles below National Emission Standard I to travel along or inside
the city's Fifth Ring Road.
It
also says diesel-driven vehicles will have to at least comply with National
Emission Standard III before they can operate in the same area.
Standard
I, which is equivalent to Euro I standard, allows an average petrol sedan to
emit a maximum of 2.7 grams of carbon monoxide a kilometer among its other
exhausts, whereas Standard IV requires less than 1 gram of carbon monoxide and
0.08 gram of nitrogen oxide a kilometer.
Beijing
's regulations on vehicle
exhaust emissions, which adopt European standards, are tougher than
U.S.
federal standards.
The
U.S.
's
Tier 2 standard requires vehicles to emit less than 2.125 grams of carbon
monoxide and 0.25 gram a kilometer.
The
ministry says the area of the ban will extend to the Sixth Ring Road, the
city's outermost highway loop, from October 1 when
China
celebrates its 60th
anniversary.
Motor
vehicle owners can obtain clearance certificates from local environment
authorities where the vehicles are registered.
China
introduced Standards I, II and III respectively in 2000, 2005, and
2007. Standard IV will be adopted nationwide in 2010.
Beijing
became the first Chinese city to enforce Standard IV on newly
bought and produced cars on March 1, 2008.
Other
cities, including
Shanghai
and
Guangzhou
, are also moving to lower car
exhaust emissions in attempts to address growing pollution concerns.
The
rule is more likely to affect older vehicles because stringent emission
standards are already applied to new cars.
(http://www.china.org.cn/china/2009-09/02/content_18447930.htm )
September 14 (China
Daily) -- Just two days after the decision by the
United
States
to levy heavy import tariffs on Chinese tires, the
government here has reacted by launching an anti-dumping and anti-subsidies
investigation into automotive and chicken exports from the
US
.
The Ministry of
Commerce (MOFCOM) Sunday did not label it as retaliation against the tire
dispute, but said it acted simply in a response to domestic concerns.
The probe, which is
in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, follows complaints from
Chinese manufacturers that US-made products entered the nation's markets with
"unfair competition" and harmed domestic industries, said the
ministry in a statement.
MOFCOM added it is
still opposed to trade protectionism and committed to working towards global
economic recovery.
US President Barack
Obama's signed a document "to apply an increased duty to all imports of
passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China for a period of three
years" on Friday, according to the White House.
In addition to the
existing duties of 4 percent, tariffs will rise a further 35 percent in the
first year, 30 percent in the second and 25 percent in the third. The levy will
take effect before Sept 26.
The move was met with
anger in
China
.
Minister of Commerce
Chen Deming branded the decision a violation of WTO rules, a grave act of trade
protectionism and a breach of the commitment the
US
made at the Group of 20 (G20) financial summit in
London
in April.
"This is an
abuse of special safeguard provisions and sends the wrong signal to the
world," he said in a statement on the MOFCOM website. He assured
China
would do everything in its power to protect the legitimate rights of the tire
producers but did not elaborate.
However, in an
earlier statement, ministry spokesman Yao Jian said the country would
"reserve all legitimate rights, including referring the case to the
WTO".
Washington
played down the dispute on Saturday, claiming it is simply "enforcing the
rules" and did not expect the move to escalate into a trade war.
However, the
US
could also levy heavier tariffs on other
imports from
China
,
such as steel, aluminum and chemical products, according to an industry insider
who asked to remain anonymous.
The US Commerce
Department on Thursday said it had made a preliminary decision to impose duties
ranging from 11 to 31 percent on imports of Chinese steel pipes used for oil
and gas wells.
The ruling supports
the proposal made by the nation's steel producers led by US Steel Corp, which
claimed Chinese imports were granted unfair subsidies.
MOFCOM, however, said
the ruling is not in line with the subsidy and anti-subsidy agreements under
the WTO framework.
Chinese officials and
their
US
counterparts have been unable to reach an agreement after five months of talks.
However, the new tariff is lower than the 55 percent proposed by the US
International Trade Commission (ITC) based on a petition led by the United
Steelworkers union (USW) that said tire imports had tripled since 2004, causing
plant closures and job losses.
MOFCOM spokesman
Yao
said the move would push the cost onto the consumers,
cause US wholesalers and retailers to scramble to find other suppliers, and
fail to create new jobs in the
US
.
"Chinese tire
producers pose no direct competition to those in the
US
,"
he said before adding that
China
's
tire exports to the
US
had not witnessed a remarkable increase as claimed by the USW.
Last year, the
country's tire exports to the US grew by just 2.2 percent compared to 2007 and,
in the first half of this year, fell 16 percent compared to 2008, explained
Yao.
"Four US
companies have tire production operations in
China
and account for two-thirds of exports to the
US
. The tariffs will have a direct
impact on them," he said.
Cooper Tire and
Rubber Co, a US-based tire maker, warned that higher tariff could disrupt
markets.
The company said in a
statement it believes in free and fair trade, and that the ITC's proposed
remedy "is not appropriate or acceptable and could have significant
negative impacts causing considerable market disruption".
The industry insider
told China
Daily the closure of many
US
tire factories "is, to some extent, a result of the strategic adjustment
of the tire industry", with many tire firms moving production of low-end
tires off-shore to make use of cheap labor.
"President
Obama's decision is not in the interest of companies seeking higher profit
margins," the insider said.
Analysts claim the
actions of the Obama administration are at odds with its public statements
about how protectionism could deepen the ongoing crisis.
The US and China, the
world's two major economic engines, vowed to cooperate in the fight against the
world recession but this dispute has caused friction before its top officials
meet at a G20 summit in Pittsburgh on Sept 24-25. Obama is also expected to
visit
China
in November.
The tariff change has
also sparked debate in the
US
.
USW's International
President Leo Gerard hailed the tariff hike by saying it "sent the message
that we expect others to live by the rules, just as we do".
However, Marguerite
Trossevin, legal counsel to the American Coalition for Free Trade in Tires, a
pro-business group, said: "We are certainly disheartened the president
bowed to the USW and disregarded the interests of thousands of other
US
workers and consumers."
(http://www.china.org.cn/business/news/2009-09/14/content_18518807.htm )
September 29 (Xinhua)
--
China
will lower gasoline and diesel prices by 190 yuan (27.8 U.S. dollars) per tonne
from Wednesday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced
Tuesday.
The benchmark
price of gasoline will be 6,620 yuan a tonne, and for diesel 5,880 yuan a
tonne, according to the NDRC.
The retail price
of gasoline will drop by 0.14 yuan per liter and that of diesel will decrease
by 0.16 yuan per liter.
It is the eighth
fuel price adjustment since the country adopted a new fuel pricing mechanism,
which took effect on Jan. 1 and the first reduction of fuel prices in two
months.
Under the pricing
mechanism, the NDRC will consider changing the benchmark retail prices of oil
products when the international crude price changes more than 4 percent over 22
straight working days.
The price cut was
in accordance with the international price changes, the NDRC said.
The average crude
price of Brent,
Dubai
and Cinta has declined to
71.52 U.S. dollars a barrel, down 5.02 percent since the previous fuel price
adjustment, according to the Shanghai-based CBI (
China
) Co., Ltd., a leading service
provider in Chinese commodity markets.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/29/content_12127230.htm )
September
10 (Xinhua) - Shell (China) Limited and China's Shenhua Group, the nation's
biggest coal producer, Wednesday agreed to conduct joint research and
development on clean coal technology.
A
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation was signed between Shell (
China
)
Limited and Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the
Shenhua Group.
But
a joint coal-to-liquid project of the two companies is being halted because of
fluctuations in global crude oil prices.
Shi
Xiaoli, Shell China director in charge of clean coal business, said a
feasibility study on the coal-to-liquid project had been conducted but it had
been decided to halt it as global crude prices were currently at a relatively
low level, which would make profitability uncertain.
Wu
Xiuzhang, Vice Chairman of Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co., said the
profitability of such a project was highly dependent on market conditions,
while quality of coal supplies and prices also impacted on the project.
But
Wu said Shenhua's own coal-to-liquid pilot project, initiated in
Inner Mongolia
at the beginning of the year, would still
be able to make a profit at current crude prices of between 65 U.S. dollars and
70 U.S. dollars per barrel.
Wednesday's
MOU did not specify any particular project the two sides would work on. It only
said the two sides would seek more advanced technology to turn coal into gas
and then to liquid, and discuss possible applications of carbon capture and
storage technology.
Three
Chinese manufacturers have signed agreements with Shell to produce key
equipment for the latter's coal-to-gas technology.
Shi
said
China
is the largest market for Shell's gasification technology, and such agreements
would lower its manufacturing costs and make Shell's equipment more competitive
on the Chinese market.
(http://www.china.org.cn/business/news/2009-09/10/content_18503414.htm )
September 26 (China Daily) -- China will
stockpile a third phase of strategic oil reserves after the second phase is
finished, in a move to meet international standards of reserve capacity, a
senior energy official said Friday.
In accordance with the standards of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
China
will work to increase its strategic oil reserves capacity to 90 days, Zhang
Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said at a press
conference Friday.
"At present, we are far from this
level," said Zhang, who is also vice-minister of the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planning body.
China
on Thursday started building the
Dushanzi strategic oil reserve base in the
Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous region as a part of the country's second phase of strategic oil
reserve bases. The project, which has a capacity of 5.4 million cu m, will
consist mainly of crude from
Kazakhstan
.
The project is one of several energy
projects started in Xinjiang on Thursday. Others include three plants that will
provide electricity and heat to local people, one power transmission line, one
coalmine and one LNG (liquefied natural gas) project, accounting for a total
investment of 23 billion yuan.
The seven projects will create 6,000 jobs
and generate 2 billion yuan in taxes annually, Zhang said.
"Construction of the Dushanzi oil
reserve base is in line with the country's move to build more strategic oil
reserves in the inland regions," said Zhang.
China's first phase of strategic oil reserve
bases, namely Zhenhai, Zhoushan, Dalian and Huangdao bases, are all located in
the coastal areas in Zhejiang, Shandong and Liaoning provinces.
The first four bases have a total capacity
of 16.4 million cu m. They were all filled with crude last year, according to
the NEA.
The country's second phase of strategic oil
reserves will include eight bases, the NEA announced in February at a national
energy conference. The eight bases will include one in Huangdao in
Shandong
and one in
Jinzhou
in
Liaoning
.
Under a three-year (2009-11) blueprint
outlined by the NEA,
China
will accelerate the construction of oil reserves to enhance energy security.
The country will collect and store 44.6 million cu m of crude oil reserves by
2011.
Industry insiders said earlier that
China
is expected to stockpile 70 million cu m of refined oil by 2015, up from 52
million cu m at the end of last year.
Previous page 1 2 Next Page
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/26/content_8740140.htm )
September 16 (Xinhua)
–SHANGHAI: Major oil companies will soon be required to contribute to a special
fund to clean up damage from oil spills.
Last year, 109
oil spills occurred in
China
's
seawaters, leaking 354 tons of oil into the waters.
The spills wreak
havoc on sea life, fishing and tourism, and can cost millions of yuan to clean
up and to compensate victims for the damage.
Draft details of
how the new regulation will be put into effect next year suggests oil companies
pay about 0.3 yuan (4 cents) for each ton of imported oil.
If last year's
figure of 190 million tons of oil imported into
China
remains constant, the fund
could collect about 57 million yuan a year.
Major oil
companies such as Sinopec, PetroChina and the China National Offshore Oil Corp
will be most influenced by the regulation, Xu Shiming, deputy director of Ship
Safety and Pollution Prevention Department with the administration, told China
Daily in an exclusive interview.
The regulation
was passed by the State Council on Sept 2.
Increased
shipping traffic, including oil cargo ships to and from
China
's coast, in addition to the
bigger size of tankers, is putting greater pressure on the ocean environment.
Once an oil spill
occurs, the shipping company will be asked to pay for cleanup and compensation
up to a certain insurance limit. But in many cases, the damage exceeds that
amount.
The new fund will
then be used to take care of the rest of the cost and reduce victims' losses,
Xu said.
Victims can
either apply to maritime safety administrations for mediation, or file a
lawsuit asking for compensation.
But the fund is
unlikely to cover all losses, as the draft plan suggests an upper limit of 50
million yuan for compensation, he said.
China
has joined a
number of international conventions, and taken measures to prevent oil spills
and to build up the emergency response capacity to deal with accidents.
So far, most
large ships sailing on international routes or along the coast have to buy
insurance.
According to the
newly approved regulation, oil tankers of all sizes and ships for other
purposes with gross tonnage over 1,000 tons will be forced to buy insurance in
the near future, he said.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-09/16/content_8696049.htm )
September 26 (China Daily) –
China
has
confirmed the existence of gas hydrates, a potential energy resource, in
western
China
tundras,
becoming the world's third country to confirm its finding after
United States
and
Canada
.
The hydrates were found in the permanently
frozen subsoil to the south of
Qilian
Mountain
in
Qinghai
province.
Zhang Hongtao, chief engineer from the
Ministry of Land and Resources, said on Friday that workers have successfully
collected gas hydrate samples containing methane, ethane and carbon dioxide.
But commercial extraction is likely 10 to 15
years away as techniques to tap the gas are still under development, Zhang
said.
China
is the third largest country in
the world in total permafrost area, with about 2.15 million square meters of
permafrost. The potential gas hydrates in
China
's permafrost is equal to at
least 35 billion tons of oil, scientists have estimated.
Gas hydrate, also called "flammable
ice," is almost pure methane mixed with water turned to ice by low
temperatures and high pressures in permafrost or under the sea. Gas hydrates
exist in vast quantities around the world but so far isn't producible as an
energy resource.
One cu m of gas hydrate could release at
least 164 cu m of gas.
Hydrate formations exist under hundreds of
meters of deep water in places like the Gulf of Mexico and closer to the
surface in permafrost areas of the
Arctic
.
Chinese government officials said earlier in
the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) that more investments will be made in
developing alternative energy resources including biomass fuel and liquefied
coal like gas hydrate.
China
began its research on gas hydrate projects in the sea and permafrost in 1999.
Chinese and German geologists worked together in
2004 in
efforts to detect gas hydrates.
In May 2007, gas hydrate reserves equaling
about 18.5 billion tons of oil was found on the north continental slope of the
South China Sea, making
China
the fourth country in the world to detect the resource under sea.
The development of the new energy is
expected to ease the country's dependence on oil and coal, Zhang said.
The Energy Development Report of China 2009
predicted that by 2020, nearly 65 percent of the oil consumed in
China
will have to be imported.
China
aims to more than double its
annual natural gas output to 160 billion cu m by 2015 and produce about 6
billion tons of oil in the next three decades or 200 million tons a year, the
ministry said early this year.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/26/content_8740132.htm )
September
2 (Agencies) -- PetroChina
Co, the country's largest oil and gas producer, has agreed to pay C$1.9 billion
($1.7 billion) for a stake in two oil sands projects in
Canada
to tap the rich deposits in
the country.
Beijing-based
PetroChina has signed initial agreements with Athabasca Oil Sands Corp (AOSC)
to take a 60 percent stake in the Canadian company's
MacKay
River
and
Dover
oil sands projects. The projects
contain approximately 5 billion barrels of bitumen, AOSC said in a statement
late Monday.
Analysts
said the deal, which is
China
's
largest investment in
Canada
's
oil sands, is in line with its need to diversify energy supplies to enhance
energy security.
"Oil
sands projects are very capital-intensive long-term investments and difficult
to fully finance in the traditional equity market," said Bill Gallacher,
chairman, AOSC.
"AOSC
therefore decided to look for joint venture partners, and these strategic joint
venture arrangements with PetroChina, one of the world's largest energy
companies, can ensure that the MacKay River and Dover projects will be
developed in a timely manner," said Gallacher.
A
PetroChina spokesman yesterday made no comment on the deal.
Under
the agreement PetroChina's international arm will also provide some financing
for AOSC, which controls about 1.3 million acres of oil sands properties in the
Canadian
province
of
Alberta
.
Gallacher
said that AOSC recently visited several of PetroChina's oil facilities in
northeastern
China
,
where the company operates a number of heavy-oil projects using sophisticated
technologies.
"Their
field developments, operational methods, heavy-oil experience and research
facilities are world class, and as a partner they will bring these very
valuable attributes to the
MacKay
River
and
Dover
projects in
Alberta
."
Oil
sands, also known as extra heavy oil, is a type of bitumen deposit. The sands
are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense
and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen.
Oil
sands in western
Canada
are
the second largest oil reserve in the world behind
Saudi Arabia
, but they were long
neglected because of high extraction costs.
Analysts
say world oil prices need to be above $
80 a
barrel for the Canadian oil sands to be viable.
Oil
is currently trading at about $
70 a
barrel after hitting highs of $147 last summer, and a low of near $30 at the
start of this year.
"As
prices for conventional oil will remain high in the long run, heavy oil and
alternative oil products will unavoidably become part of
China
's energy segment in the near
future," Jia Chengzao, a veteran energy analyst told China Daily earlier.
PetroChina
is the first major player to invest in the oil sands region since oil prices
plunged last year.
Sinochem
deal
London-listed
oil explorer Gulfsands Petroleum yesterday denied a report it was in takeover
talks with Chinese State-owned oil company Sinochem, which had boosted
Gulfsand's shares over 10 percent, Reuters reported.
A
spokesman for Gulfsands, which has a market capitalization of around $450
million, said yesterday the company had not received a takeover approach from
Sinochem, or other parties.
"The
management have not had any kind of discussion with or proposal from
Sinochem," the spokesman said.
Last
month Sinochem agreed to buy Gulfsand's partner in a Syrian oil block, Emerald
Energy, for almost $900 million, and analysts said this had sparked takeover
speculation surrounding Gulfsands.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-09/02/content_8643938.htm )
September 30 (Xinhua)
- The China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund,
Wednesday announced it had paid 939 million U.S. dollars for a stake in
Kazakhstan
oil and gas company JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production (KMG EP).
CIC had purchased
about 11 percent of the Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) of the KMG EP through
CIC's wholly-owned subsidiary, the Fullbloom Investment Corp., said a statement
on the CIC website.
GDRs are
negotiable certificates issued by depositary banks that represent ownership of
a given number of a company's shares. GDRs can be listed and traded
independently.
KMG EP stocks are
listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and its GDRs are traded on the London
Stock Exchange.
KMG EP's GDRs
rose 9.95 percent to 22.1 U.S. dollars on Wednesday morning's trade in
London
.
(http://www.china.org.cn/business/2009-09/30/content_18637307.htm )
September 23 (China Daily) -- New York City:
President Hu Jintao Tuesday told a huge gathering of world leaders that
China will spare no effort in ensuring a deal is reached at the UN climate
change meeting in Copenhagen.
Hu said
China
will fight for a
"significant cut" in carbon emissions while urging developed
countries to help other developing nations.
He made the commitment during a one-day
summit on climate change in
New York
.
The session was attended by more than 100 heads of state and government
leaders, the largest gathering of world leaders seeking to address climate
change.
The meeting was aimed at mobilizing political
will to "accelerate the pace of negotiations and help strengthen the
ambition of what is on offer," according to UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon.
While urging rich countries to transfer
financial resources and technology to poorer nations, Hu said they should help
equip African countries, small island nations, less-developed countries and
land-locked nations adapt to climatic catastrophes.
"
China
will continue its unremitting
endeavors in boosting energy efficiency and by 2020, we should try to achieve a
significant cut of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic
product," Hu said.
Experts said it was the first time
China
's leader had described shifting
China
's
policy away from energy intensity toward carbon management.
It was also the first time
China
had announced its mid-term
goal of mitigating climate change, even though it has not yet added numbers.
"The pledge of a carbon intensity cut
has been embedded with tremendous policy implications for
China
's future sustainable
development," Daniel Dudek, chief economist with US-based Environmental
Defense, told China Daily.
Dudek said Hu went to
New York
with new commitments.
"These announcements should sweep away
the canard that
China
is not willing to reduce emissions," Dudek said.
The question now is whether
China
's pledges will propel the US
Senate toward controlling global warming.
Dudek said 2020 will be an important year
because it marks the beginning of the period in which scientists believe global
emissions must peak if the world is to avoid devastating impacts of climate
change.
"In this sense, a magnificent carbon cut
in
China
by then would contribute mightily to turning global emissions from growth to
reduction," said Dudek.
Hu also told world leaders
China
will seek to produce 15
percent of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2020. Much of that will
come from renewable energy and nuclear power.
He said the nation also plans to battle
climate change by planting more trees and he committed to increase forested
areas by 40 million hectares.
China
will also develop a greener, low-carbon economy, encourage recycling and tap
the potential of climate-friendly technologies.
But he insisted that, despite far-reaching
social and economic improvements in recent decades,
China
is still a developing
country.
And he said it is well down the global
rankings of per capita GDP, with imbalanced domestic development.
"We have been faced with tough
difficulties and we still have long way to go toward modernization," Hu
said.
Despite its developing-nation status, he said
China
realizes the "toughness and urgency" of the fight against global
warming and said the country has made great strides.
"And we will continue our unshakable
efforts in fighting climate change," Hu said, while urging developed
countries to make good on their Kyoto Protocol promise to cut emissions by 5
percent of their 1990 levels.
Hu said
Copenhagen
could be a milestone for the world while calling on developed countries to
transfer technology and financial support to developing countries.
Yang Fuqiang, director of the global climate
change solutions program at WWF, said
China
will intensify its domestic
efforts to ensure it meets President Hu’s promise to cut carbon intensity by
2020.
And Yang said the carbon intensity target is
likely to be "quantified" before the
Copenhagen
climate summit.
"To fulfill this commitment, the country
will include the carbon intensity targets ... in its 12th and 13th
Five-Year Plans (between 2010 and 2020)," said Yang.
Yu Hongyuan, an associate professor with the
Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said
China
has already started to draw
up low-carbon economy guidelines and action plans to fight global warming at
the provincial levels.
"This shows the carbon intensity goal
proposed by President Hu is not beyond reach," said Yu.
The technology and experience
China
has built up will be of great assistance to less developed countries, Yang
said.
With the carbon intensity cut, and
improvements to the country's energy efficiency, Yang said
China
will slash 4.5 billion tons
of carbon emissions between 2005 and 2020.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-09/23/content_8724671.htm )
China
on track to combat climate change
September 28 (China Daily) - On
the Loess Plateau in northwest
China
's
Shaanxi
Province
, forests and grass planted in
the past decade have turned the bare sandy terrain green -- the result of the
national campaign to return cropland to forest and grass, begun in late 1990s.
The campaign prohibits all commercial logging
in natural forests along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow
rivers,
China
's two longest
waterways, and reduces felling in northeast
China
and the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region. The project has protected forests on 104 million hectares,
and added 15.27 million hectares of new forests.
The reforestation program was initially aimed
at stopping desertification and the destruction of
China
's waterways, but it evolved
into a way of giving public expression to the challenges of climate change and
also forest and ecosystem degradation.
The Chinese government has planted 2.6
billion trees, bringing the total on the planet to 7.3 billion trees planted in
167 countries worldwide, according to a report by United Nations (UN)
Environment Program, which was released on Sept. 21.
Addressing the United Nations climate change
summit on Sept. 22, Chinese President Hu Jintao unveiled the goverment's
climate targets and plans, including a promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions
per unit of GDP by "a notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level.
Yu Jie, an official in charge of Climate
Group's Policy and Research, said it was the first time a Chinese leader had
revealed the country's target at an international conference, and it could be
interpreted as a commitment even though no actual figure was disclosed.
Hu said
China
would strive to develop
renewable energy and nuclear energy, and increase the proportion of non-fossil
fuels in energy consumption to about 15 percent by 2020, which was at about 9
percent at the end of 2008. He also said
China
would increase forest
coverage by 40 million hectares by 2020 to absorb carbon.
China
published its National Climate Change Program in June 2007, pledging to reduce
energy consumption per unit GDP, and to increase the proportion of renewable
energy in total energy consumption to 10 percent by 2010 compared with 7.5
percent in 2005. This would cut 1.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions
and save 620 million tonnes of standard coal.
The National People's Congress Standing
Committee,
China
's
top legislature, approved on Aug.
27 a
resolution on "actively tackling climate change" including specific
measures on greenhouse gas emission controls, improvement of adaptability to
climate changes, support of scientific research and the development of a
low-carbon economy. The resolution also required climate change coping capacity
be considered an element of long-term sustainable growth.
Since the 1990s,
China
has adopted a series of new
laws concerning climate change issues, including the Renewable Energy Law,
Energy Conservation Law, Cleaner Production Promotion Law, and Circular Economy
Promotion Law.
China
projected in 2005 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 20
percent during its 11th five-year-plan. By the end of 2008 carbon dioxide
emissions per unit of GDP had decreased by 10 percent, with sulfur dioxide and
chemical oxygen demand down respectively by 9 percent and 6.6 percent.
Yu said that the goal of 20 percent emission
decrease could "both ensure
China
's energy security and help
combat the challenge of climate change."
Green investment such as public
transportation and energy-saving and emission-reduction projects accounted for
30 percent of the government's 4-trillion-yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars)
economic stimulus plan.
The State Council said in its 2009
energy-saving and emission-reducing plan that the country would save 75 million
tonnes of standard coal in the year by 10 major projects and support the
establishment of new energy vehicle pilot units in 13 cities including
Beijing
,
Shanghai
and
Chongqing
.
The government has accelerated the
construction of hydropower, nuclear, solar and wind power capacities. According
to the country's long and mid-term development plan of nuclear power plants,
nuclear power installed capacity will reach 40 million kilowatts by 2020 and
will generate 260 billion to 280 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each
year, accounting for 4 percent to 6 percent of the country's total.
Yu also said the country needed to consider
the revenue to cost ratio when making fiscal policies in promoting the green
economy. In addition, there remained challenges in technologies and
administrative systems in developing green economy.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/28/content_12120970.htm )
China
, US could sign climate deal
September 5 (China Daily) - The US and
China
are likely to sign an agreement to combat
climate change during President Barack Obama's visit to
Beijing
in November,
Washington
senator Maria Cantwell said on Friday.
This, and US ambassador to China Jon
Huntsman's remark that he was impressed by Beijing's green efforts prompted
Chinese analysts to say that the Obama administration wanted to cooperate with
China in fighting climate change.
Tokyo
, on the other hand, put pressure on
Beijing
,
with the Democratic Party of Japan, voted to power on Sunday, saying its
ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - 25 percent by 2020
from the 1990 levels - was based on the premise that a post-Kyoto Protocol deal
will include
China
and
India
.
That means
Japan
wants binding GHG reduction targets imposed on
China
in the global climate
agreement that would succeed the protocol, which expires in 2012.
Senator Cantwell, in
Beijing
to discuss clean energy and
intellectual property rights with Chinese officials, said a deal between the
world's two biggest GHG emitters would help build global confidence in fighting
global warming.
Within a month of Obama's visit to
China
, world leaders will gather in
Copenhagen
for the UN
climate change conference to thrash out the details of a post-Kyoto deal.
The US and China are already cooperating in
the development of new technologies such as carbon capture and
"smart" power grid systems, Cantwell told a press briefing.
And they could reach a wider deal during
Obama's visit, to include pledges to cut tariffs on clean-energy related goods
and services, and technology transfers, she said.
The Foreign Ministry did not confirm what
Cantwell said.
Huntsman told reporters at a press conference
in
Beijing
: "I took a plane last week to
Chengdu
,
Sichuan
, and I
looked down on the flight outside
Beijing
and saw roads and roads of new renewable energy, wind energy, that was being
developed."
"
China
is taking it very seriously.
You're investing significant amounts of money in your tomorrow," he said.
Shi Jingli, a researcher with the National
Development and Reform Commission's Energy Research Institute, said
China
's
wind energy had doubled every year in the past three years, while renewable
energy accounted for 8.6 percent of its energy consumption in 2008.
John Miligan-Whyte, chairman of the Center
for America-China Partnership, said Huntsman's comments reflected his positive
attitude toward
China
.
Huntsman has distinguished himself from the others because of his different
mindset toward
Beijing
.
Yuan Peng, head of the
Institute
of
US Studies
under the Chinese
Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said Huntsman's remarks
showed that the
US
was more
eager to cooperate with
China
to fight global warming and did not want to dwell on their differences.
Washington
is trying to persuade
Beijing
to accept a set of binding targets for GHG emission cuts. Though
China
has not committed to any, it has made huge efforts to cut emissions.
Zou Ji, professor of the Renmin University of
China, said nearly two-thirds of the key technologies that
China
needs to mitigate global
warming have to be imported from developed economies.
"We found that we need to transfer 43 of
them from the key technology list of the developed economies such as the
US
,
Japan
and the EU," Zou said at
the launch of a UN report on development and climate change.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/05/content_8658415.htm )
China,
UK,
Switzerland
to cooperate on climate project
September 24 (Xinhua) –
China
, the United Kingdom (UK) and
Switzerland
jointly launched a project Thursday
with an investment of 6.75 million US dollars, to study the impact of climate
change on
China
and help
China
better handle climate change.
The project, "Adapting to Climate Change
in
China
" (ACCC), will
be implemented this year and finish in 2012,
China
's National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) said.
The UK Department for International
Development (DFID), the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation will provide financial support and
technical assistance for the project.
Mark Lowcock, director general of UK DFID,
said climate change was an urgent issue and adapting to it was one way to deal
with it. All nations should share their experiences and information in the
field, he said.
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region and
Guangdong
Province
in
China
have been selected as pilot
regions for the project.
The project will study and develop adaptive
planning and policy regarding the impact of climate change on agriculture,
water resources, grassland livestock, disasters and human health in
China
.
Gao Guangsheng, director of the Department of
Climate Change of the NDRC, said adapting to climate change was a severe
challenge to
China
as the country was easily subject to it because of its huge population and various
climatic patterns.
The Chinese government has adhered to the
principles of seeking to ease climate change while adapting to it, he said,
adding the government is studying specific policies and measures to adapt to
climate change by 2020.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told a United
Nations climate summit on Tuesday that
China
would cut carbon dioxide
emissions per unit of GDP by "a notable margin" in the decade to 2020
from the 2005 level.
China
published its National Climate Change Program in 2007, which pledged a 20
percent reduction of energy consumption per unit gross domestic product (GDP)
by 2010 on the basis of 2005 figures.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/24/content_12105350.htm )
China
's active climate policy thread of hope to
Copenhagen
talks
September 23 (Xinhua) - As UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called for solid political will and the leading
role of industrialized countries to tackle global warming,
China
showed a "sincere and
inspiring" stance to help address the common challenge to human society.
Chinese President Hu Jintao unveiled a number
of climate targets and plans in his address to the opening session of the
United Nations climate summit Tuesday in New York, including a promise that
China would cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by
"a notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level, which was welcomed by
leading climate policy experts at home and abroad.
Feng Fei, a senior research fellow at the
State
Council
Development
Research
Center
, one of
China
's top think tanks, said in an interview
with Xinhua Wednesday, "The inspiring stance from
China
will definitely influence the
United States
and other developed countries to speed up their action.
Disputes between industrialized and
developing nations won't disappear, but the pledge from
China
will be of much help in achieving a
positive goal at the
Copenhagen
conference later this year," Feng said.
State and government leaders from about 190
countries will attend the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) December in
Copenhagen
,
Denmark
.
The meeting is expected to renew greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions reduction
targets set by the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol, which are to expire in 2012.
Qi Ye, a
Tsinghua
University
climate policy expert, said
China
has set a good example ahead of the COP15.
The government has combined measures
including global warming awareness, emissions reduction targets and policy
incentives, which obviously show
China
is now thinking in a more
sophisticated way on handling climate issues," Qi said.
Qi said it was a substantial change for
China
to incorporate plans addressing climate change into national planning for
coordinated economic and social development, as announced by Hu.
"Climate change is now becoming really a
national concern," Qi said. "I hope
China
's political resolve and
practical measures will encourage other countries."
Kelly Gallagher, senior associate of the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University,
said, "China's new plan to set a domestic greenhouse gases intensity
target is very intriguing."
"It's clear from President Hu's speech
that serious consideration is now being given to domestic policy in
China
.
Let's hope that the U.S. Senate is equally serious," Gallagher, who also
teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts
University
,
told Xinhua in an email interview.
Domestic experts interviewed by Xinhua all
agreed China was making strenuous efforts to combat global warming, while at
the same time maintaining the dynamics of its own economy.
According to Hu's statement,
China
would strive to develop renewable energy and nuclear energy, and increase the
share of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption to about 15 percent by
2020,which was at about nine percent at the end of 2008. He also said
China
would increase the forest cover by 40 million hectares by 2020 to absorb
carbon.
"It's ambitious to reach these high
standards and it is the best the government can do, given overall
considerations," Qi said.
Stock markets responded favorably to Hu's
initiatives to develop renewable energy, particularly the nuclear sector. The
share price of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed (000777) company Sufa
Technology Industry Co., a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Nuclear
Corp. (CNNC), rose, within 15 minutes after the Wednesday opening, to the
10-percent limit and ended up at 18.08 yuan (2.65 U.S. dollars) per share.
President Hu also said
China
would boost the development
of a green, low-carbon economy, while increasing the research, development and
wide use of climate-friendly technologies.
Feng was quite upbeat about
China
's pioneering green economy,
mentioning that 30 percent of the 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus funds
announced in November would be funneled to green investments such as public
transportation and energy-saving and emission-reduction projects.
"It's likely that the green path will
stimulate economic growth and lead a new round of economic restructuring in the
global market, which is strategically important to
China
," Feng said.
China
and
other developing countries were in need of technical and financial support from
developed countries in dealing with global warming, Feng added.
At the summit, President Hu urged developed
countries to take the lead in cutting GHG emissions and developing countries to
work hard in combating climate change with support from developed countries.
Hu also said all nations should "commit
to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities", along
with other principles including achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes,
promoting common development and ensuring financing and technologies.
U.S. President Barak Obama also addressed the
summit prior to Hu's speech. Robert Stavins, director of the Harvard Project on
International Climate Agreements, said there was a remarkable consistency
between the remarks of the two presidents on global climate change policy.
“Obama's offer to work constructively with his colleagues at the G20
(meeting in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh) to phase out fossil fuel subsidies
fits perfectly with Hu's call for 'achieving mutual benefit and win-win
outcomes'," said Stavins, professor at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University.
"
China
and the
U.S.
are the two most important nations in terms of the global climate, so
progressive actions by these two countries are key," he told Xinhua in an
email interview.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/23/content_12103127.htm )
China
to curb production overcapacity amid green
efforts
September 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese official
vows on Thursday to curb the country's production overcapacity and avoid
repetitious construction of projects that are less environmental-friendly.
The move is part of the country's efforts to
promote energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, Wan
Bentai, chief engineer with the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP),
said on half of MEP minister Zhou Shengxian.
Today's projects should never become the
target of tomorrow's environment control program." He said in a speech
delivered at the fifth China International Forum on Environment and
Development.
The development and industrialization of
green economy faces an important opportunity as the country has spent a large
share of its 4 trillion yuan (586 billion U.S. dollar) stimulus package on
energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, he said.
He called for strengthened environment
assessment measures on enterprises and optimizing the structure of key sectors
such as the steel and auto industries.
The environmental problems brought about by
China
's
sweeping urbanization, such as garbage and waste water disposal, should be
seriously dealt with, he said, while stressing the importance of addressing
issues in the rural areas such as water resources contamination, land
pollution, garbage disposal and fertilization-caused pollution.
He also pledged that the government will
intensify efforts in fostering creative and highly-efficient green technologies
and encourage a green consumption model for both urban and rural dwellers.
A change to people's consumption habits, such
as eating less meat, is conducive to environmental protection and greenhouse
gas emission reduction, said Khalid Malik, Resident Representative of the
United Nations Development Program in China, in the forum.
The fifth China International Forum on
Environment and Development was co-hosted by the MEP and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP). It was organized by the All-China Environment
Federation.
The annual forum has been held for four years
with the aim of creating a platform for international organizations and Chinese
government agencies to discuss issues related to environmental protection. It
also invites the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in
discussing environmental matters of global importance.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/17/content_12070897.htm )
Beijing
air quality
best in 10 years
September 21 (China Daily) --
Beijing
's air quality is
still poor, despite improvements in recent years, a senior environment expert
said.
Zhu Tong, a professor at Peking University
who participated in Beijing's Olympic air quality panel last year, said
residents in the city are prone to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases
because of Beijing's poor air quality, although the harm has been mitigated
over the years.
"Air quality has indeed improved
greatly, if we compare it with that of 10 years ago. But there is definitely
more to be done in order to ensure the health of the residents," he said.
Zhu was commenting on a government
announcement that air quality in
Beijing
this
year had been at its best level in a decade, as the city steps up pollution
control measures ahead of the 60th anniversary of
China
.
Beijing
recorded 214 "blue sky days", 82.3 percent of the total,
from January to mid-September, 18 days more than the same period last year, the
city's environmental authorities said.
This means it would only take an extra 46
blue sky days for the city to achieve its goal of 260 this year.
Beijing
has a five-grade classification of air quality: a reading below 50
is "excellent"; from 51 to 100 "fairly good"; 101 to 200
"slightly polluted"; 201 to 300 "poor"; and more than 301
"hazardous". Days with excellent or fairly good air quality are
counted as blue sky days.
Authorities attributed the improvement in air
quality to the ban on high-polluting vehicles, the relocation of factories in
downtown areas, and switching to new fuels like natural gas.
But Zhu said the current monitoring system
for
Beijing
's
air quality "cannot reflect the full picture."
"Some of the pollutants required in the
international standards for tracking air quality haven't been covered here and
the allowed pollutant concentration level in
China
is much higher," he
said.
Zhu, however, commended the city's long-term
initiative in constantly raising the emission standards of vehicles, blamed as
the biggest contributor to
Beijing
's
air pollution.
Beijing
announced that it would upgrade its vehicle emission standard to
Euro V in around 2012 to further cut tail gas and better air quality.
The standard, which has just been adopted in
Europe, would be first imposed on new vehicle models in
Beijing
and then extended to all vehicles as
authorities gradually retire older models that do not meet the standard.
"It's one good way of reducing emissions
on the road, but the government also needs to make people drive less by relying
on public transportation and switching to new-fuel vehicles," Zhu said.
(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-09/21/content_8713721.htm )
