In May and August, the Chinese government launched two economic stimulus packages in succession to revive the economy. Apart from promoting infrastructure investment, their catalog of measures includes one-sided measures to promote car purchases. Other sectors are neglected.
By Experts Table.Briefings
In recent months, labor rights have once more become a hot topic in China, as cries grew louder for better protection of workers‘ rights in the gig economy. This societal awareness of labor rights issues is also reflected by the number of labor disputes filed with the institutions, which first grew rapidly after relevant legislation was issued in 2008 and kept growing steadily ever since. Counterintuitively, the number of collective cases has declined, to some degree attesting to China’s sensitivity regarding collective action.
By Experts Table.Briefings
The extreme drought that plagues China this summer causes severe pressure on its electricity system, especially in regions heavily relying on hydropower like Sichuan. In combination with the challenges of the economic slowdown, this leads to growing concerns that China might backpedal on its decarbonization ambitions, restart coal production and prioritize coal power infrastructure. However, the electricity generation data during the first half of 2022 shows China is still, slowly but steadily, increasing the ratio of renewable energy in its power mix.
By Experts Table.Briefings
Nachdem die chinesische Führung im vergangenen Jahr das Ziel verkündet hat, bis 2030 den CO2-Höchststand zu erreichen, arbeitet sie nun einen Strategieplan zur Erreichung dieses Ziels aus. Die Steigerung der Energieeffizienz in energieintensiven Sektoren stellt dabei neben der verstärkten Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien einen wichtigen Teil des Dekarbonisierungsplans dar. Auch wenn die genau Umsetzung weiterhin unklar bleiben wird, da wirtschaftliche Interessen zuweilen Vorrang haben, signalisiert der Strategieplan zur Verbesserung der Energieeffizienz eindeutig Chinas Ambitionen und ermöglicht es ausländischen Unternehmen, umweltfreundlichere Lieferketten in China aufzubauen.
By Nico Beckert
Recent power shortages caused grave concerns among companies in China. The system of largely fixed power pricing seemed ill equipped to compensate for changes in coal consumption. But China’s National Development and Reform Commission illustrated once more that in acute cases it can very effectively intervene in the market. It employed a mix of market-oriented liberalization steps and strong direct state intervention to bring down coal prices within a week and stabilize the market, analyzed Sinolytics.
By Redaktion Table
