20091110 Beijing eyes closing coal-fired plants: report

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn China is considering moving the last four coal-fired power and heating plants out of Beijing's municipal area, replacing them with gas-fired stations, state media reported on Monday, in an effort to improve air quality in the capital. "The existence of a number of coal-fired power plants in urban Beijing does not conform with the city's positioning as a metropolis," Zhang Guobao, head of the China's National Energy Administration (NEA), was quoted as saying in the China Energy News. "While the heat supply to Beijing residents must be ensured, coal-fired stations that need to be relocated must be relocated, and building gas-fired plants with advanced environmental protection technologies is a first choice." The top Chinese oil and gas firm has started early-stage work for a third pipeline, linking Shaanxi to Beijing, while a fourth line is also being planned, according to Zhao.

20090902 Shougang says annual output to reach 30m tons by 2012

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn Shougang, meaning "Capital Steel", was Beijing's biggest polluter before it began cutting output at its Beijing plants for last year's Olympics. It is now moving production to a 10-million-ton, state-of-the-art mill on the nearby coast of Hebei Province. The 21-sq-km new plant in Caofeidian, an islet 220 km east of Beijing, will replace Shougang's old facilities in Beijing next year, to become the country's largest steel production base. Meanwhile, the Beijing factory site will become a development zone for a wide range of industries including logistic services, real estate development and auto spares production, which will yield an additional 100 billion yuan ($14.7 billion) a year, he said. Founded in 1919, Shougang is widely considered the flagship of China's heavy industry. With its production base just 17 km west of Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, however, it has long been blamed for causing heavy pollution as the plant's chimneys belch out thick clouds of smoke.

20090831 China's new-tech LCD industry gets $4B boost

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn BEIJING: China will promote the production of liquid crystal display (LCD) based on a new generation Thin Film Transistor (TFT) technology with a total investment of 28 billion yuan (US$4 billion), at Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. BOE Technology Group Co., an LCD-making company with patent technology on G8 TFT-LCD production, will complete a production factory by 2011 which is able to assemble 40-inch LCD TV screens. Related readings:  TV makers suffer from soaring LCD panel prices  Taiwan LCD makers seek tie-ups with mainland firms  NEC closing LCD plant, reducing jobs to cut costs  LCD firms vie for mainland market  China imports 9.5% more LCD panels at higher cost "Our products will meet the surging domestic demand for large-sized LCD TV screens with high quality but lower prices," said BOE Chairman Wang Dongsheng at the inauguration ceremony of the factory on Monday.

20081128 人民人情﹕工業區域

clipped from www.mingpaonews.com 【明報專訊】中國的工業發展迅速，各省市都大力推動工業發展，興建高新工業城等等。然而，大家是否知道哪些是中國最重要的工業區域呢？ 從產品的總價值來看，中國現時較大的工業基地分別是「京津唐」工業基地、「滬寧杭」工業基地、「遼中南」工業基地和「珠三角」工業基地。這些地方都位於我國東部。其原因與歷史、區位、人口分佈、資源分佈、貿易路都有千絲萬縷的關係。 東部地區平地較多，農業的發展一直較好。在這些地區，特別是長江三角洲與珠江三角洲，人口密度較高，氣候也相對地溫和。所以，當經濟政策轉為市場機制後，這些地區的工業發展比內陸西部地區為快。而且，加上中國的工業有不少是加工出口往美國、加拿大和歐洲等地，因而在東部沿海地區設廠、運輸較為方便。這導致了中部及西部的工業發展較為緩慢。 長遠來說，東西部的工業發展不平衡不是好事。因此，近年來我國政府大力推動西部的開發，希望改善現時的狀。在20世紀90年代末開始，中央政府在工業發展的問題上，大力扶持內陸地區同步發展，力爭使到東西部的發展趨於較為平衡。 ■本文內容將於下周港台節目「人民人情」播放，節目由香港電台第一台及香港教育學院聯合製作，香港教育學院校長張炳良主持，逢周一至五8:30am、11:30am及6:30pm於香港電台第一台(FM92.6-94.4)播出。節目重溫：http://podcast.rthk.org.hk/podcast/item.php?pid=174 文：林智中

20080624 Baosteel to pay almost twice for ore

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn SHANGHAI - Baosteel, China's largest iron and steel maker, said Monday it had agreed with Australian mining group Rio Tinto on a price increase of up to 96.5 percent for iron ore in 2008, nearly double that of 2007. Baosteel agreed as early as in February on a 65 percent price rise for iron ore imports from Brazilian miner Vale, the world's largest. Rio Tinto and larger rival BHP Billiton have then required for a "freight premium", claiming that it costs less to ship iron ore from Australia to China. Chinese steel makers have accepted huge price rises for six consecutive years, driven up by huge increases in demand. China imported 1.34 billion tons of iron ore between 2003 and 2007, 42 percent of the total world shipments in the five years. The country's crude steel output more than doubled to 490 million tons in 2007 from 220 million tons in 2003.