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The new market-based pricing system will also encourage distributors like ENN and China Gas that are expanding into global gas trading to look at importing LNG. "The policy will help the whole (gas) distribution sector and restore utilities' profitability," said Tan Yuwei, general manager of capital management at China Gas Holdings. Shares for listed gas utility companies briefly reversed this year's trend downwards after the policy was announced, but they remain under pressure from lacklustre industrial demand and China's struggling economy. China in recent years has liberalized natural gas prices by allowing distributors to pass costs on to industrial and commercial customers, although Beijing maintained tight control over household prices to avoid a consumer backlash. "This policy reform will result in more reasonable downstream gas prices in China, which will encourage city gas utilities to increase purchases from upstream importers," said Yi Cui, an analyst with consultancy Rystad Energy, referring to Chinese national oil companies.

Persons: COVID, Tan Yuwei, Tan, Yi Cui, Chen Aizhu, Emily Chow, Andrew Hayley, Tom Hogue Organizations: ENN Energy Holdings, HK, China Gas Holdings, China Resources Gas, Shanghai Gas, Chongqing Gas, Changchun Gas, China Gas, National Development, Reform Commission, China Gas Association, Rystad Energy, Beijing, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, BEIJING, China, Changchun, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shijiangzhuang, Lanzhou, Hubei, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Beijing, Hebei, Singapore

☆ Factbox: China's major germanium and gallium producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China produces around 60% of the world's germanium, or 180 metric tons in 2022, and over 90% of the world's gallium, about 606 tons last year, according to research firm Antaike. YUNNAN GERMANIUM, AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCERHeadquartered in southwest China's Yunnan province, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry Co. Ltd. (002428.SZ) extracts germanium from its own germanium mines and germanium-containing lignite coal mines. It has an annual capacity of 47.6 metric tons of germanium ingot, 60 tons of germanium tetrahydride - used to build 5G infrastructure - and 300,000 germanium wafers for solar cells. CHINALCO, A MAJOR GALLIUM PRODUCERState aluminium giant Chinalco has three gallium production plants, one each in central China's Henan and southwestern Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. It has annual production capacity of 200 metric tons of gallium metal and produced 146 metric tons in 2022.

Persons: Duan Xiangdong, Hope, Zhuzhou, Dominique Patton, David Evans Organizations: . Ltd, Aluminum Corporation of China, Zhuhai Fangyuan, Xing'an, Gallium, AXT Inc, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, YUNNAN, China's Yunnan, Yunnan, China's Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Shanghai, Zhuzhou, China's Hunan, Zhuhai, Guangdong, Shanxi, Nanjing, U.S, Beijing

☆ Chinese authorities focus on fire hazards following restaurant blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - China's State Council Security Committee and municipal and provincial governments have held emergency video conferences and issued warnings about fire hazards and safety in the wake of a blast in China's northwest that killed 31 on Wednesday. Wednesday's explosion at a BBQ restaurant prompted President Xi Jinping to order a safety overhaul across China, calling on all regions to rectify safety risks. Following a hastily convened video conference on Thursday, Beijing mayor Yin Yong stressed that close attention should be paid to investigating and rectifying fire hazards. Beijing's municipal government, as well as the provincial governments of Sichuan, Guizhou and Hainan have all called attention to fire dangers and the safe handling of liquefied gas. Sichuan's Governor Huang Qiang said his province would immediately carry out an investigation and treatment of gas safety hazards.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Yin Yong, Huang Qiang, Casey Hall, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Security, China's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hainan

☆ 'Relentless' heatwaves scorch southern China, test power grids
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Workers of grid operator China Southern Power Grid inspect power cables connecting transmission towers in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoBEIJING, June 2 (Reuters) - Having sweltered through May, southern and eastern China face more weeks of unrelenting heatwaves, putting power grids under strain as demand for air-conditioning soars in mega-cities like Shanghai. Like many parts of Asia, China has been besieged by extreme hot weather in recent weeks ahead of summer proper in the northern hemisphere. But how they are occurring - it's just been week on week on week of these records being shattered. Powerful convection weather has also wreaked havoc in central China in recent weeks, with protracted downpours and even hail devastating the country's ongoing wheat harvest.

Persons: Stringer, I'm, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Gao Rong, Ryan Woo, Qiaoyi Li, David Stanway, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: China Southern Power Grid, REUTERS, University of New, National Climate Centre, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Asia, Provinces, University of New South Wales, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Singapore

In the next three days, most of southern China is expected to suffer temperatures of more than 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), with temperatures in some areas exceeding 40C, national forecasters said on Friday. Extreme hot weather beset China, like many part of Asia in recent weeks, even before summer arrived. But how they are occurring - it's just been week on week on week of these records being shattered," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist with the University of New South Wales. ELECTRICITY DEMANDDemand for electricity in southern manufacturing hubs, including Guangdong, has surged in recent days, with China Southern Power Grid, one of the country's two grid operators, seeing peak power load exceeding 200 million kilowatts - weeks earlier than normal and close to historical highs. Powerful convection weather has also wreaked havoc in central China in recent weeks, with protracted downpours and even hail devastating the country's ongoing wheat harvest.

Persons: David Kirton, we've, Zhao, Yang, haven't, heatstroke, I'm, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Mei, Gao Rong, Ryan Woo, Qiaoyi Li, David Stanway, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: heatwave, REUTERS, Reuters, University of New, China Southern Power Grid, National Climate Centre, Thomson Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Asia, University of New South Wales, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Singapore

☆ Wuhan is so cash-strapped it's calling in debts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

It urged them to pay their overdue debts as soon as possible. The public appeal by Wuhan, which was at the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic that began in late 2019, is highly unusual and underscores the fiscal challenges facing China’s local governments. A real estate crash has exacerbated the problem, as local governments rely heavily on land sale revenues. Analysts estimate China’s outstanding government debts surpassed 123 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) last year, of which nearly $10 trillion is so-called “hidden debt” owed by risky local government financing platforms. Wuhan and Kunming are not the only city governments revealing the extent of their debt problems.

☆ Shanghai breaks more than century-old heat record in sweltering May
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A person uses clothing to protect themselves from the sun, as they walk on the Bund on a hot day, in Shanghai, China May 15, 2023. The peak recorded by the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau on Monday beat the previous May record of 35.7 degrees Celsius set in 1876, 1903, 1915 and 2018, according to bureau statistics. Earlier, many localities in Sichuan province, which is home to more than 80 million people, issued high-temperature warnings, with some areas maxing out at 42 degrees Celsius, local media reported. In the next three to five days, the maximum temperature in some cities in Sichuan, located in China's southwest, will reach 38 degrees Celsius, and hit 42 degrees Celsius in some areas, according to state media. China, known for extreme weather conditions, has also been experiencing torrential rains for weeks in some regions.

☆ China may have to bail out one of its poorest provinces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of China’s poorest and most indebted provinces has admitted defeat in trying to sort out its finances and is appealing to Beijing for help to avert default. Guizhou, located in a mountainous region of southwest China, has hired a top state-owned distressed debt fund, China Cinda Asset Management, to resolve its “urgent” problems. China’s local governments are struggling with trillions of dollars of debt, after three years of strict pandemic controls and a real estate crash drained their coffers. The Pingtang Bridge links two cities in southwest China's Guizhou province. In China, most local government liabilities are composed of “hidden debt” issued by their financing arms.

China's four new vice premiers:Ding Xuexiang, 60, is the first-ranked vice premier who also sits in the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's top echelon of power. Wang Zhigang, 65, remains minister of science and technology. Huai Jinpeng, 60, remains minister of educationPan Yue, 62, remains head of the National Ethnic Affairs CommissionWang Xiaohong, 65, remains minister of public securityChen Yixin, 63, remains minister of state security. Considered a Xi ally, he had worked with Xi when the latter was party chief of Zhejiang province from 2002-2007. Tang Dengjie, 63, remains minister of civil affairsHe Rong, 60, remains minister of justiceWang Xiaoping, 59, remains minister of human resources and social securityWang Guanghua, 59, remains minister of natural resourcesHuang Runqiu, 59, remains minister of ecology and environmentNi Hong, 60, remains minister of housing and urban-rural developmentLi Xiaopeng, 63, remains minister of transportLi Guoying, 63, remains minister of water resourcesTang Renjian, 60, remains minister of agriculture and rural affairsHu Heping, 60, remains minister of culture and tourismMa Xiaowei, 63, remains head of the National Health CommissionPei Jinjia, 59, remains minister of veterans affairsWang Xiangxi, 60, remains minister of emergency managementHou Kai, 60, remains auditor-general of the National Audit OfficeReporting by Yew Lun Tian, Ziyi Tang, additional reporting by Albee Zhang; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Power-hungry aluminium producers in Yunnan and neighbouring provinces were already operating at reduced capacity, some of them since September, dragging down China's national output. The latest cuts will impact around 740,000 tonnes of annual production capacity, adding to the million tonnes already offline, according to industry consultancy Mysteel. Aluminium capacity has grown to around 5.25 million tonnes, making it the fourth largest provincial producer after Shandong, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. January's estimated annualised production was 40.50 million tonnes, a drop of almost one million tonnes over the last five months. Registered inventory on both exchanges has risen fast, cushioning the supply chain from the loss of Chinese production momentum.

☆ China issues heavy fog warnings, some shipping suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China issued dangerous heavy fog warnings for many regions and shipping was suspended in the Qiongzhou Strait, an important economic transport hub near Hainan, according to state and local media on Tuesday. China has a four-tier, color-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Multiple areas in China's southeastern Fujian also issued alerts for heavy fog, with ferry crossings between Xiamen and Zhangzhou suspended, according to CCTV. Fog will continue in the mornings and evenings of Qiongzhou Strait until Friday, and conditions for navigation will be poor, CCTV reported citing the national weather forecast bureau. In December, one person was killed when more than 200 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on a bridge in China's central Zhengzhou city due to heavy fog.

☆ China's cities are struggling to pay their bills from three years of Covid and a real estate crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rolling lockdowns seriously dented household incomes, leading many to reduce spending, which in turn resulted in less tax revenue for local governments. “China’s runaway local debt poses a serious threat to the country’s overall economic health and will weigh heavily on China’s still-nascent recovery,” said Singleton. Debt that is backed by local governments but which doesn’t show up on their balance sheets could be much bigger. That’s more than 20% higher than the estimate of 53 trillion yuan made by Goldman Sachs in 2021. Their debt squeeze could pose a serious threat to China’s financial system, particularly to small regional banks.

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Global aluminium production rose by a marginal 2.0% last year, a rate of growth that was down from 2.7% in 2021 and the slowest since 2019, according to the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Global aluminium production by region change versus 2021EUROPE POWERS DOWNWestern European aluminium output was running at an annualised 2.73 million tonnes in December, down by 540,000 tonnes on December 2021 and the lowest production rate this century. Latin America was the fastest-growing aluminium production region last year with output up 10.7% year on year. As ever more smelters switch to green energy sources, global aluminium production is ever more dependent on seasonally variable power availability. Such regional adjustments are now part and parcel of the global aluminium production landscape but they have injected a new degree of volatility into aluminium's previously slow-changing supply side.

☆ China zero-Covid: Local governments reveal billions spent on fighting the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, local governments across China began to convene for annual legislative sessions laying out their respective policy goals for the year. Economists estimated the entire year’s deficit could hit a record 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in 2022. Beijing, the nation’s capital, said Sunday that it had spent nearly 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) last year on preventing and controlling Covid. The city didn’t reveal its 2021 Covid spending. During the past three years, the bills amounted to 30.5 billion yuan ($4.6 billion.)

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - China's imports of primary aluminium jumped to a one-year high of 110,700 tonnes in November in a significant reversal of the recent trend. China's imports and exports of primary unwrought aluminiumTRADE FLOWS FLIP AGAINChina's primary aluminium export surge has passed. Global aluminium production monthly change annualisedSLOWING MOMENTUMChina's renewed import appetite for primary aluminium looks at odds with the combination of lockdown-weakened demand and strong domestic production growth. Expressed in terms of annualised production, China's collective run-rate has dropped by almost 1.2 million tonnes since August. Sichuan briefly rationed power to industrial users, including aluminium smelters, in August because of a protracted drought in the hydro-rich province.

☆ Column: Key coal import hubs in China perk up as economy reboots: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China coal use seasonallyBut recent measures aimed at lifting movement restrictions and reviving economic activity in China are already resulting in increased coal import activity at key usage hubs, which stand to impact global coal flows, prices and emissions in 2023. Between January and October, the province cut thermal coal use by 51 million tonnes from the same period in 2021. As a result, many Southern China coal plants are almost overwhelmingly reliant on imported coal. And all major coal ports in that region are now starting to show signs of a recovery in coal import volumes compared with mid-2022, when lockdowns were common throughout the country. And much of that increased coal demand will be fulfilled by imports, which will serve to tighten global coal markets, boost China's coal sector emissions, and potentially raise prices for other coal consumers.

Hong Kong CNN —An unprecedented wave of Covid cases in China has sparked panic buying of fever medicines, pain killers, and even home remedies such as canned peaches, leading to shortages online and in stores. Canned yellow peaches, considered a particularly nutritious delicacy in many parts of China, have been snapped up by people looking for ways to fight Covid. Its sudden surge in popularity prompted Dalian Leasun Food, one of the country’s largest canned food manufacturers, to clarify in a Weibo post that canned yellow peaches don’t have any medicinal effect. “Canned yellow peaches ≠ medicines!” the company said in the post published Friday. The drug shortage has spread from mainland China to Hong Kong, a special administrative region which has a separate system of local government.

[1/4] People wearing masks line up outside a pharmacy to buy products as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, China December 6, 2022. China may announce 10 new national easing measures as early as Wednesday, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. So, because right now in Chaoyang district cases are quite high, it is better to stock up on some medicines," he said. In the latest incident, videos posted on Twitter showed university students chanting protest slogans against COVID policies on their campus in Nanjing city. The uneven nature of the easing measures and varying interpretation of the rules from city to city has been an ongoing source of frustration for many people and businesses.

BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Chinese residents have rushed to snap up COVID-19 antigen kits and medicines for fevers and colds, as the country's recent easing of prevention measures triggered widespread concern among the public that they could now catch the virus. "People around me are all buying antigen kits and I also bought 50," said 40-year-old Beijing resident Huang Yuqi, working for an entertainment company. "Now the country is entering a new phase in terms of pandemic policy and I'm unsure about what will happen next. Shandong-based pharmaceutical company Buchang Pharma (603858.SS) told local news outlet Cailianshe that its factory making a Chinese medicine for lung disease was working around the clock due to "huge demand". The rush to stock up on COVID treatments drew scorn in state media.

☆ What China’s Protesters Are Calling For
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Agnes Chang | Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The protesters’ calls for an end to lockdowns have morphed into demands for official accountability and even for China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to step down. In Shanghai on Sunday, protesters had gathered at Urumqi Road, named after the city, when the man stepped onto the road. The crowd responded: “No!”“Chinese people, we have to be braver!” ReutersThe crowd applauded. PLAINCLOTHES OFFICER PLAINCLOTHES OFFICER The New York Times; video via ReutersThe man continued: “How did the people in Urumqi die? “The foreign forces you are talking about — are they Marx and Engels?”“We are all patriots,” one replies.

☆ Blank sheets of paper become symbol of defiance in China protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In Shanghai, a crowd that started gathering late on Saturday to hold a candlelight vigil for the Urumqi victims held up blank sheets of paper, according to witnesses and videos. Other images showed dozens of other people subsequently taking to the university's steps with blank sheets of paper，illuminated against the night sky by flashlights from their mobile phones. In Hong Kong in 2020, activists also raised blank sheets of white paper in protest to avoid slogans banned under the city's new national security law, which was imposed after massive and sometimes violent protests the previous year. Several Internet users showed solidarity by posting blank white squares or photos of themselves holding blank sheets of paper on their WeChat timelines or on Weibo. By Sunday morning, the hashtag "white paper exercise" was blocked on Weibo, prompting users to lament the censorship.

☆ Investors Lose Taste for Pricey Chinese Liquor as Xi Renews ‘Common Prosperity’ Call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A production line at the Kweichow Moutai factory in the town of Maotai in Guizhou province, China. Chinese President Xi Jinping has a vision to distribute wealth more equally across the country. Investors are sobering up to what that could mean for the companies that make the nation’s beloved fiery booze. Mr. Xi recently doubled down on his plans for “common prosperity” during China’s weeklong Communist Party congress in October. Investors are worried that this could portend an industry crackdown, or simply be bad for the future sales of luxury baijiu distillers and companies that sell expensive goods to wealthy people.

☆ Tech giant Tencent was China's most valuable company for 6 years. In September, it finally lost the title — to a liquor company.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese tech giant Tencent's value has dropped to the worth of a local Chinese liquor giant. Once worth nearly $1 trillion, the gaming and internet giant now hovers at less than half of its peak market value. On September 30, Tencent lost its status as China's most valuable company when its market capitalization dipped below that of Guizhou-based distiller Kweichow Moutai. Harsh restrictions on tech giants spelled the end of Tencent's glory daysMoutai liquor is placed in a liquor store in Moutai town in Guizhou province. Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesThat Kweichou Moutai's market value could even be compared to Tencent's shows how far the tech behemoth has fallen.

☆ Factbox: China's 20th Communist Party Congress: who could be in Xi's new team?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's Xi Jinping is widely expected to clinch a third five-year leadership at the upcoming congress of the ruling Communist Party, a mandate that would secure his stature as the country's most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong. Hu Chunhua, 59, vice premierHu is considered a candidate for elevation to the PSC and possibly to become China's next premier. Chen Miner, 62, Chongqing party secretaryChen is also a trusted aide and considered a candidate for the PSC. The only current female member, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, is 72 and therefore ineligible to serve another term under China's unofficial age norms. Li Xi, 65, party chief of Guangdong provinceLi, considered a trusted ally of Xi, may get a bigger job after the Congress.

☆ China's Communist Party leadership reshuffle: what to look for
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Visitors are seen silhouetted against a Chinese Communist Party flag displayed at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Florence LoBEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party will reshuffle its leadership when it holds a once-in-five-years Congress starting Oct 16, with Xi Jinping widely expected to stay on for a third term as general secretary, China's senior-most position. Economic tsar and Vice Premier Liu He, 70, is due for retirement. The only woman in the Politburo, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, 72, is also due to retire. Xu Qiliang and Zhang Youxia, both military chiefs in the Politburo age 72, are also due to retire.

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