An unidentified foreign firm will apparently be allowed to cooperate with three coal mines in north China's Shanxi Province, a provincial commerce official said, an indication of China's efforts to open its coal industry to overseas investors.
Although the joint-venture is yet to receive final approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, foreign investors will no longer find policy barriers to entering the country's coal industry, said Zhang Jitang, director of the Foreign Investment Department in the Shanxi Provincial Department of Commerce.
"China has eased control over foreign investment in its coal industry," he said, acknowledging that current policies allow foreign businesses to invest in all coal sectors except rare coal.
"China particularly encourages foreign firms with advanced technologies to invest in such sectors as coal mine exploration and intensive processing of coal," he said.
Shanxi is China's major coal producer. Its proven reserves amount to 272.5 billion tons, accounting for one-third of the country's total.
From 2000 to 2004, Shanxi's annual coal output has grown by 30 million tons each year. Last year, its coal output reached 493 million tons, a quarter of China's total. Meanwhile, the province's coal exports amounted to 43.97 million tons in 2004, representing 52 percent of the country's total.
"The surging price of oil and gas on the world market and the rapid growth of China's energy-driven sectors such as the power industry have jointly stimulated domestic demand for coal; therefore, the coal sector has become increasingly heated," said Dong Jibin, vice president of the Shanxi Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.
(Xinhua)