Chinese imports of coal surged to a monthly high in September, driven by increased consumption and falling international coal prices. China imported last month a total of 47.59 million metric tons of coal, a 13% increase from September 2023, data from the country’s General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. …
Read More »China is Winning the Race for Ultra-Fast Charging EV Batteries
The world’s biggest battery makers are working to make electric vehicles more attractive to hesitant buyers by offering a five-minute charge time for a decent range that would give drivers the same superfast experience as they would have at a gas station. Currently, the charging times for EVs range anywhere …
Read More »China is on a LNG Stockpiling Spree
China, the world’s largest LNG importer, is set to keep the number-one spot this year and next and be an increasingly influential force on the global market as its natural gas storage is nearing capacity ahead of the winter. China has spent years stockpiling gas, especially with high import volumes …
Read More »Kazakhstan in Talks with China to Increase Natural Gas Exports
Kazakhstan is negotiating an increase in natural gas exports to China including via a new pipeline, Bloomberg has reported, noting this would put Kazakhstan in a competition with Turkmenistan and Russia. “Despite reports of an economic slowdown in China, the demand for gas continues to grow,” Sanzhar Zharkeshov, chief executive …
Read More »China Completes Trial Run of Unmanned Heavy-Haul Train on Major Coal Transport Route
China completed a trial operation of an unmanned heavy-haul train on the railway connecting North China’s Hebei and East China’s Shandong provinces, marking a key milestone in advancing from automated to unmanned heavy-haul railway technology. The test train, comprising 108 cars with a total length of nearly 1,300 meters and …
Read More »China’s Russian Oil Imports Jump 25% as Beijing Seeks Cheap Crude
China’s crude oil imports from Russia jumped by 25.6% month-on-month in August as Beijing last month welcomed the highest monthly crude arrivals so far this year, taking advantage of cheaper supplies. China imported 2.21 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Russia in August, according to data from the …
Read More »U.S. Solar Energy Soars despite Chinese Competition
The U.S. is seeing record solar energy capacity growth each year, thanks to greater public and private investment in the sector. The already rapidly growing solar industry boomed following the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other favourable policies. This growth is expected to continue, with several large-scale …
Read More »China’s Coal Power Generation Returns to Growth
China saw in August the first increase in coal-fired power generation in four months as coal remains a vital part of the system despite soaring output from clean energy sources and a growing share of renewables in the electricity mix. China’s electricity output from thermal sources – which are predominantly …
Read More »Chinese Refineries Go Bankrupt amid Plummeting Margins
Slumping refining margins amid tepid fuel demand in China have already claimed victims among the refineries in the Shandong province, where two plants operated by chemicals giant Sinochem were declared bankrupt in recent days. Zhenghe Group Co and Shandong Huaxing Petrochemical Group Co were declared bankrupt after creditors failed to …
Read More »Aramco’s New Deals with China Signal a Further Deepening of Sino-Saudi Relations
A little under a year before the Russian invasion of February 2022, Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, had spent several days at the annual China Development Forum hosted in Beijing, during which time he stated: “Ensuring the continuing security of China’s energy needs remains our highest priority – …
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