Slashdot Mirror
China To Close 2,000 Factories In Energy Crackdown
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published a list of 2,087 steel mills, cement works and other energy-intensive factories required to close by September 30 after discussions with provincial and municipal officials to identify industrial operations with outdated, inefficient technology. The goal of the factory closings is 'to enhance the structure of production, heighten the standard of technical capability and international competitiveness and realize a transformation of industry from being big to being strong,' the ministry says. The current Chinese five-year plan calls for using 20 percent less energy this year for each unit of economic output than in 2005 but surging production by heavy industry since last winter has put in question China's ability to meet this target. In addition to the energy-efficiency objective in the current five-year plan, a plan announced by President Hu Jintao late last year called for China to reduce its carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels."
They are (mostly) bonds, not loans. They mature when they mature, you can't call them in whenever you like. There is a real risk that china will become more reluctant to lend in the future though.
is this scenario plausible
No, it's not. Why would someone purposefully cause the value of an investment that they hold to tank?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
You do know China is doing a really strong push into renewable energy? They are the worlds largest manufacturer of wind power equipment and has put serious efforts into solar, wind, energy crops, has this written into law and they even (gasp!) signed the Kyoto protocol the US took a dump on.
HTTP/1.1 400
Really? California has the third highest unemployment rate in the US. It's third or fourth in the country for foreclosures. Sacramento is broke and has the lowest credit rating of the 50 states.
Seems pretty gutted to me.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.