Chinese Economics Thread

Overbom

Brigadier
Registered Member
Why is CN not exporting more oil product at these prices? Logic says that it should be taking advantage of these massive spreads on producing diesel and gasoline, especially since they also seem to be getting fairly good access to cheap Russian crude. I would have expected China to have started to issue a lot more quotas because it’s an easy economic win for them and a way to quickly ramp up exports. It’s not in China’s interests to not supply these barrels. It risks hastening the advent of recession in much of the developed world and certainly developing world. Or Maybe CN like US recession lolol.
And how is the West going to pay for that? With toilet paper money?
 

vincent

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Moderator - World Affairs
Why the Chinese government isn’t keen on exporting fossil fuel products:

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Air pollution hazards: Petroleum refineries are a major source of hazardous and toxic air pollutants such as BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene). They are also a major source of criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Refineries also release less toxic hydrocarbons such as natural gas (methane) and other light volatile fuels and oils. Some of the chemicals released are known or suspected cancer-causing agents, responsible for developmental and reproductive problems. They may also aggravate certain respiratory conditions such as childhood asthma.

Water pollution hazards: Refineries are also potential major contributors to ground water and surface water contamination. Some refineries use deep-injection wells to dispose of wastewater generated inside the plants, and some of these wastes end up in aquifers and groundwater. These wastes are then regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Wastewater in refineries may be highly contaminated given the number of sources it can come into contact with during the refinery process (such as equipment leaks and spills and the desalting of crude oil). This contaminated water may be process wastewaters from desalting, water from cooling towers, stormwater, distillation, or cracking. It may contain oil residuals and many other hazardous wastes.

Soil pollution hazards: Contamination of soils from the refining processes is generally a less significant problem when compared to contamination of air and water. Past production practices may have led to spills on the refinery property that now need to be cleaned up. Natural bacteria that may use the petroleum products as food are often effective at cleaning up petroleum spills and leaks compared to many other pollutants. Many residuals are produced during the refining processes, and some of them are recycled through other stages in the process. Other residuals are collected and disposed of in landfills, or they may be recovered by other facilities. Soil contamination including some hazardous wastes, spent catalysts or coke dust, tank bottoms, and sludges from the treatment processes can occur from leaks as well as accidents or spills on or off site during the transport process.
 

FairAndUnbiased

Brigadier
Registered Member
Typical westerners, always blaming Russia or China for problems.
Broke: exporting refined petrochemicals that certain countries have threatened to cut off with naval forces for paper money from that certain country.

Woke: refusing to do so and exporting inflation.

Bespoke: refusing to do so, exporting inflation, allowing them to build uncompetitive refineries with subsidies with expected high prices and then open the taps on refining capacity for 3rd party oil at lower cost to drive their new refinery capability out of business.
 

56860

Senior Member
Registered Member
Speaking of Singapore ,does it have tech depth like Taiwan ,SK or Japan ?
Not even close. There is no Singaporean equivalent of TSMC, Samsung or Tokyo Electron, and compared to those countries Singapore produces nothing of value. Singapore is a place for foreign multinationals to park their money and take advantage of a well educated pool of workers. The ultimate goal of every Singaporean is to whore themselves out for a 'prestigious' multinational, not start their own company that puts Singapore on the map.
 

Strangelove

Colonel
Registered Member
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GT investigates: ‘There are many options other than Australia’ – Chinese firms on why they ‘abandon’ market

Hostile business environment turns investors away

By GT staff reporters Published: Jun 29, 2022 10:29 PM

Photo taken on March 14, 2017 shows a bird's eye view of Darwin Port's cargo wharf in Australia. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on March 14, 2017 shows a bird's eye view of Darwin Port's cargo wharf in Australia. Photo: Xinhua

A recent industry report showing sharp drop of Chinese investment in Australia has led certain Australian media outlet to declare that Chinese investors were "fast abandoning Australia" and were "flocking to Europe and countries" along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Many Australian media reports about the declining Chinese investment in the country tend to attribute the trend only to diplomatic tensions between the two countries in recent years, while refraining from explaining exactly why Chinese investors are leaving the country.

In interviews with the Global Times, several Chinese business representatives describe an increasingly hostile and discriminatory business environment in Australia evidenced by excessive regulatory scrutiny of Chinese investments as well as growing anti-China sentiment in the broader Australian society. Under such an environment, some clearly stated that "there are many options in the world other than Australia" and they would not "put all eggs in one basket."

In an example of excessive regulatory security of Chinese businesses by Australian authorities, a representative of a major listed Chinese firm in Australia told the Global Times that Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has asked the company to submit some information that involved personal privacy or business secrets.

The FIRB required the company to provide complete and traceable proof of funds during filing, including legitimate sources of funds from all of the company's major shareholders, the representative said on the condition of anonymity.

"In the filing, a major shareholder's source of funds was listed as the sale of his own property, along with a contract for the sale and bank transfer records. However, the FIRB then asked us to provide legal sources of funds for the shareholder's purchase, which went back more than a decade and was hard to find," said the representative, adding that the company eventually gave up on investing in Australia.

"For Chinese companies going overseas, there are many options to choose other than putting all eggs in one basket with Australia," the representative said with obvious frustration.

That frustration is apparently common among Chinese firms in Australia. In 2021, Chinese investment in Australia declined by 69 percent from A$2.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in 2020 to A$800 million, falling to its lowest level in the past 15 years since 2007, according to a report by KPMG and the University of Sydney released in April.

Chinese investment has been diverted from countries such as the US and Australia to the EU and countries involved in the China-proposed BRI, the report said.

Chinese official data also point to a growing trend of Chinese investment along the BRI and Europe. The flows and stocks of China's outbound direct investment (ODI) remain among the world's top three in 2021. Of China's total ODI in 2021, 936.69 billion yuan ($145.19 billion), 14.8 percent flocked to countries involved in BRI, and Chinese investment in Europe grew by about 25 percent year-on-year, official data showed.

In a clear indication of the shift of Chinese investments away from Australia, a Chinese wine trader told the Global Times that his company's previous investment in Australian wine imports has been completely diverted to wines from Europe and South America amid growing difficulties in doing businesses with Australia.

Since mid-2017, Australia has been constantly undermining its relations with China, playing the role of a "pioneer" in the US' anti-China campaign. Chinese investments in Australia started a rapid decline in 2018, when the Australian government banned Huawei from participating in the country's 5G network construction citing "national security."

In line with the Australian government's hostile approach toward China, Australian public opinion toward China has also fallen sharply, according to the 2022 Lowy Institute poll published on late Tuesday, more indications of the increasingly hostile environment for Chinese businesses in the country.

The poll showed that 63 percent of Australians say China is "more of a security threat" to Australia in 2022, compared to 12 percent in 2018, while 33 percent say China is "more of an economic partner" to Australia, compared to 82 percent in 2018.

For Chinese investors, such a huge jump in hostility toward China means reconsidering business strategies.

A Chinese investor, who has been exporting wine and other food products from Australia for nearly 20 years, told the Global Times that many Chinese companies have put their investment intentions in Australia on hold, and investors are also taking a "wait-and-see" attitude.

"The new Australian government's attitude toward China is not clear. It sometimes makes positive statements, which are softer than the previous government's tone; However, the attitude of the Anthony Albanese administration on some matters of principle makes many Chinese investors feel disappointed and confused," the veteran investor said.

In addition to regulatory security and hostility, insiders from a number of Chinese companies said that the COVID-19 pandemic has also posed difficulties as Australia has long and repeatedly been in a state of border closure and internal lockdowns.

Chinese investors, who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, were unable to obtain visas for business visits to Australia, let alone reaching investment agreements worth millions or even billions of dollars, they said.
 

luosifen

Senior Member
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GT investigates: ‘There are many options other than Australia’ – Chinese firms on why they ‘abandon’ market
Didn't I post this exact article 2 pages back? Anyways:

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Plan eyes energy efficiency at big firms​


2022-06-30 08:27:14China Daily Editor : Li Yan
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pic1-40101154.jpeg

Employees check solar panels at a new energy technology company in Hefei, Anhui province. (Photo by Zhao Ming/for China Daily)
China aims to cut large industrial enterprises' energy consumption per unit of added value by 13.5 percent from the 2020 level, according to a plan jointly released by six government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In China, an enterprise with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.99 million) is deemed relatively large.
The joint plan will also push forward the electrification and low-carbon shift of energy at the enduser level in the country's industrial sector.
It will further promote alternative technologies and equipment in key industries, including steel, petrochemicals, nonferrous metals and construction materials.
The larger goal is to further expand the proportion of electrification of terminal energy-using equipment and to lay a solid foundation for achieving carbon neutrality, it said.
Earlier data showed that the energy consumption per unit of added value of China's large industrial enterprises in 2021 dropped 5.6 percent from the previous year, after logging a 16-percent decline in the 2016-20 period.
The government will also step up renewable energy consumption to meet the demand for electricity from the newly added electrification projects, so as to ensure electric energy accounts for around 30 percent of industrial energy consumption by 2025.
Luo Zuoxian, head of intelligence and research at the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute, said the industrial, construction and transport sectors have been major energy consumers and the country has been carrying out massive energy efficiency and conservation work related to these sectors.
The country has been upgrading equipment and facilities related to the industrial sector while stepping up the replacement of fossil fuels with green power in order to reduce energy consumption in these areas, Luo said.
With the country's industrial structure gradually improving and energy intensity decreasing, the new joint plan will further support the government's ambition to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, he said.
China has been optimizing its production structure in recent years to meet the country's growing demand for clean energy. For instance, the country's top oil behemoths have been laying out plans to increase the percentage of renewable energy in China's total energy output.
China National Offshore Oil Corp announced on Wednesday that the percentage of renewable energy in its total energy output would surpass that of oil and gas by 2050.
The company plans to invest 5 percent to 10 percent of its total expenditure in emerging industries, including new energy. The carbon emissions intensity will decrease between 10 percent and 18 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), it said.
The government also plans to further promote the clean coal utilization to ensure a steady replacement of the traditional fossil fuel.
According to a five-year plan on energy conservation and emissions reduction released by the State Council, China's Cabinet, earlier this year, the country will appropriately control its total energy consumption and cut energy consumption per unit of GDP.
Total emissions of chemical oxygen and ammonia nitrogen will see an 8 percent drop by 2025 compared with the 2020 level, and that of oxynitride and volatile organic compounds will be reduced by more than 10 percent from the 2020 level, the plan stated.
 
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