China Economy Forum

[sweetgrape]

China produces its first megawatt level HTS
China produces its first megawatt level HTS motor | China's Great Science and Technology

2012-10-16 — No. 712 Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has developed Chinese first 1000kW HTS (high temperature super-conductor) motor, which has passed the project examination in Beijing by the Ministry of Science. It indicates that China already has a megawatt HTS motor design and manufacturing capabilities to become one of the few countries to master the key technology of high-temperature superconducting motor.

The zero current resistance characteristics of high-temperature superconducting materials in low-temperature environments has greater current carrying capacity which is far superior to the ordinary copper wires. The HTS motor has high torque density and stand-alone extremely large capacity significant advantages. According to estimates, respectively, HTS motor’s volume and weight is only 1/2 and 1/3 of the conventional motor and also has the advantages of high efficiency, low noise, easy to maintain, flexible operation. The HTS motor has a bright application prospect in marine electric propulsion and new energy field.

No. 712 Institute over the years has engaged in the superconducting applied research work, and is the earliest unit in the study of superconducting motor. In 2012, No. 712 Institute completed one of 863 planned key projects “1000kW high-temperature superconducting motor”, breaking the high-temperature super- conductive machine key technology. The prototype has been completed multi-condition test, full load operation of the 500 laps / minute speed under 1000kW, with motor efficiency of 95%. Those technical indicators have reached the design requirements, electrical and cryogenic systems run stable, the overall index has reached the international advanced level. Through years of research, No. 712 Institute has established a dedicated design and analysis of high-temperature superconducting motor system, built a test device and test platform, has accumulated valuable experience in engineering development, training a research and development team to carry out large-capacity HTS motor in future.

The HTS motor as an important research direction for marine electric propulsion and wind power. In recent years it become a hot research field of high-temperature superconducting applications. With the continuous development of the technology of high-temperature superconducting materials, superconducting motor technology engineering applications, resulting in significant economic and social benefits.

 

[cirr]

PetroChina starts third west-to-east gas pipeline

By Richard Fu

2012-10-17

shanghaidaily.com

PETROCHINA Co has started building China's third west-to-east gas pipeline, a 125 billion yuan (US$20 billion) project that will be able to transmit 30 billion cubic meters of the cleaner-burning fuel annually. The project, expected to be completed in 2015, will consist of one main line and eight branch lines, spanning a combined 7,378 kilometers, China Central Television reported yesterday.

This is part of China's energy strategy to carry gas from the resource-rich western regions to power plants and homes in the coastal regions. In 2004, PetroChina completed China's first west-to-east pipeline, which ends in Shanghai. Construction of the second phase began in 2008, with a branch line to reach Hong Kong by the end of this year. A combined 290 billion yuan has been spent on the first two lines. Natural gas consumption has been growing rapidly in China, rising 21.5 percent to 130.7 billion cubic meters last year.

The new project will be supplied by 25 billion cubic meters of gas from central Asian nations including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The rest will come from gas produced from coal in Yili, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to Liao Yongyuan, a vice president of PetroChina. At full capacity, the project will increase the share of natural gas in China's primary energy consumption by 1 percentage point and supply 100 million people in 10 provinces along the route, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Hunan, Fujian and Guangdong. The new project, which will boost gas imports from Central Asia, will also prompt the government to advance its pricing reform on natural gas, analysts said. Gas imports are losing money at present because of price regulation.

China earlier this year launched a trial program in southern Guangdong and Guangxi seeking to link gas prices to those of imported fuel oil used for power generation and liquefied petroleum gas used in cooking. Natural gas is increasingly replacing both fuels in the country. The reform, which will bring prices more in line with commodities markets, is expected eventually to result in higher costs for consumers and benefit PetroChina and other state energy giants that are importing more gas to meet the growing demand.

 

[cirr]

Sinopec Establishes Coal-to-chemical Unit

Sep 29, 2012

Menafn

Chinese oil giant China Petroleum Corp. (Sinopec Group) formally established a coal-to-chemical unit in Beijing on September 28. The newborn, namely Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical Co., Ltd., sees Dai Houliang, senior vice president of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. serve as its chairman and will mainly take charge of the investment and operation of coal-to-chemical business of the parent, construction of the coal-to-chemical projects, as well as professional management of the coal-to-chemical business.

The group planned to build six coal-to-chemical bases across the country from 2011 to 2015, with the bases spreading in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Guizhou Province, Anhui Province, Henan Province and Ningxia Autonomous Region, each. And so far, it has made a substantial progress in five of them. It has planned to launch a coal-to-gas project with annual production capacity of eight billion cubic meters in the eastern Junggar area of Xinjiang, apart from conducting two natural gas pipeline projects. The one running from Xinjiang to Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province, with designed investment of ¥159 billion, will see annual gas transmission capacity hit 30 billion cubic meters. And the other one, running from Xinjiang to Shandong Province and with designed investment of ¥86 billion, will see annual gas transmission capacity reach 30 billion cubic meters, too. In addition, it took part in a coal-to-chemical project with annual production capacity of 25 million tons of coals, 4.2 million tons of methanol and three million tons of dimethyl ether launched by Zhongtian Hechaugn Energy Co., Ltd. Designed investment of the project is ¥4.1 billion and in Zhongtian Hechuang, China National Coal Group Cop. (ChinaCoal) and it each controls a 38.75 percent stake. Fu Chengyu, chairman of it, said that it aimed to establish a leading position in the domestic coal-to-chemical industry within eight to ten years. Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical signed an agreement with the municipal government of Hebi City, Henan, over coal-to-chemical integration on September 27. Besides, it plans to invest in invest in a coal-to-gas project in Texas, US, with USD 1 billion.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top Chinese price planner, released several bans on blind expansion of coal-to-chemical projects in the past five years. However, judging from the current situation, it is moving the bans. An analyst with Guosen Securities pointed out that in order to fight against an economic slowdown and help the domestic economy shift, there is a need for the nation to launch some large-sized projects.

 

[cirr]

Largest hydropower station on Mekong River starts operation

Updated: 2012-09-07

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/busines...t_15742514.htm

PU'ER -- The largest hydropower station on Lancang River in southwest China's Yunnan Province -- known as the Mekong River in southeast Asia -- went into operation Thursday with its first power generating unit up and running.

The Nuozhadu hydroelectric station, located in the city of Pu'er, is China's 4th largest of its kind. It will be installed with nine same-size generating units with a total capacity of 5.85 gigawatts.

All the units will be put into operation by 2014, thus enabling the station to generate 23.9 billion kwh of electricity on average each year.

By churning out clean energy, the station will help save 9.6 million tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18.8 million tonnes each year.

The dam of the Nuozhadu station is 261.5 meters high, the highest in Asia and the world's third highest.

As one of the seven planned hydropower projects on Lancang River inside China, the station will increase the electricity supply and optimize the energy mix and also help flood control and water use downstream, said Yunnan governor Li Jiheng.

The Lancang River, or Mekong River, rises on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before spilling into the South China Sea.

The river's China section has an estimated 32 gigawatts of exploitable water power resources as it flows through high mountains and valleys, with a huge drop in height at some points.

During the hydropower development, China has paid great attention to the protection of the river valley ecosystem and environment as well as water allocation along the river valley.

In recent years, many contractors and research institutes have conducted investigations with overseas counterparts on the impacts of hydropower development on downstream regions.

The research results showed that the water flow in the river's China section accounted for only 13.5 percent of the river's total, making the country's hydropower development have little impact downstream.

"First, the water flow inside China has a small share of the whole river valley; Secondly, hydropower generation doesn't consume water," said Ma Hongqi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "So the hydropower development on the upper reaches has very limited impact on the water flow downstream."

Meanwhile, the dam stores water during the flood season and releases it during the dry season, which could help ease both flooding and drought in the countries downstream, Ma said.

Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Co Ltd, which runs the hydropower station, has also made efforts to protect the ecosystem and the fish in the river.

Wang Yongxiang, chairman of Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower, said the company has set up botanical gardens of rare plants and animal saving stations and also has taken measures to ensure zero emissions at the hydropower project.

 

[cirr]

Chinese units get their domes

10 October 2012

by World Nuclear News

China continues to progress with its construction of new nuclear power reactors. Within the space of a couple of weeks, the milestone of installing the dome of the reactor containment building has been achieved at two more units - Fuqing 3 and Changjiang 2.

The reactor dome of unit 3 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant in Fujian Province was successfully lowered into place on top of the containment building at 5.48am on 9 October. Plant constructor China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation (CNECC) said that the operation to install the reactor dome - with a diameter of 37 metres, a height of 11 metres and weighing 160 tonnes - took just 30 minutes.

Fuqing is to be a six-reactor plant, based on Chinese-designed CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors. The overall 6000 MWe project is expected to cost 100 billion yuan ($15.9 billion). Construction of Fuqing units 1 and 2 started in November 2008 and June 2009, respectively. Those units are scheduled to begin operating in October 2013 and August 2014.

Ground was broken for Fuqing unit 3 and 4 in June 2009 and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) held an official ceremony to mark the start of work on unit 3 in December 2010. The reactor should begin operation in mid-2015.

Changjiang 2 capped

Two weeks earlier, the reactor dome was also installed at unit 2 of the Changjiang plant in China's southern island province of Hainan.

The 173-tonne dome was successfully installed on the unit's reactor building at 9.26am on 25 September, CNECC reported. The operation - using crawler cranes with a lifting capacity of some 900 tonnes - lasted 48 minutes.
The Changjiang plant, near Hoi Mei Tong village, is being built as a joint venture between CNNC and China Huaneng Group, with shares split 51% and 49%, respectively. The plant will eventually comprise four 650 MWe CNP-600 pressurized water reactors and will be built in two phases.

Initial approval for the construction was granted by China's National Developmental and Reform Commission in July 2008. Site works began in December 2008. Construction of Unit 1 began on 25 April 2010, while first concrete for unit 2 was poured on 21 November 2010. The dome of the reactor building of Changjiang 1 was installed on 28 December 2011, 28 days ahead of schedule. Changjiang 1 is scheduled to begin operating by the end of 2014, with unit 2 set to start up the following year.

The installation of the reactor building dome marks the end of the major civil engineering works on the reactor buildings. Changjiang 2 and Fuqing 3 are the fifth and sixth Chinese units, respectively, to have had their reactor domes installed since the start of 2012. The others include Taishan 2, Yangjiang 3, Ningde 4 and Fangchenggang 1.

Construction projects already underway should see China bring online some 27 new reactors by the end of 2015 - in addition to the 15 units currently in operation.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

China's first three quarters GDP in 2012 was 35.3480 trillion yuan or 5.65 trillion USD.

Keep doing the good job.

 

[WS-10 Engine]

Chinese economy grew by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter.

Things are starting to bottom. I expect Q4 will be around 8%.

 

[cirr]

Q4 is crucial，for it accounts for one-third of the year total。

If the growth rate picks up a little and the exchange rates stay where they are today，Mainland China's 2012 GDP will be around 8.5 trillion US dollars。Adding Hong Kong and Macau，but excluding Tiawan， make PRC 2012 GDP fairly close to 9 trillion dollars。

The growth rate for 2013 should be back on the 8% plus track，with 2-3% CPI inflation。

 

[WS-10 Engine]

Why does Q4 account for 1/3 of total GDP?

 

[xuxu1457]

Why does Q4 account for 1/3 of total GDP?

in 2011, Q1--Q4
(100million&#65509
Q1:97101.2
Q2:108674.2
Q3:115443.7
Q4:150344.6

Q4 really 1/3 of the years GDP

 

[shuttler]

Seasonal factor

 

[WS-10 Engine]

in 2011, Q1--Q4
(100million&#65509
Q1:97101.2
Q2:108674.2
Q3:115443.7
Q4:150344.6

Q4 really 1/3 of the years GDP

Thanks!!!!

 

[shuttler]

Late but good news!
China close to meeting annual affordable housing targets

2012-10-12 20:04 ( Xinhua)

Chinadaily

BEIJING - China has basically completed construction on 4.8 million affordable housing units in the first nine months, bringing the country one step closer to hitting its annual target of completing 5 million such units, the country's housing authorities said Friday.

Local governments across the country started construction on 7.2 million government-subsidized housing units from January to September, up from 6.5 million units in the first eight months of the year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) said in a statement.

Therefore, the country has achieved its goal of starting construction on more than 7 million units this year as part of its five-year plan to build 36 million such units by 2015.

China invested 960 billion yuan ($151.66 billion) in building affordable housing units for low-income groups in the first nine months, the ministry said.

The government has stepped up its efforts in the construction of affordable housing in recent years in an effort to cool the country's runaway property prices.

 

[Icecreamcart]

Apparently there was an important piece of news hidden in the latest economic figures from China.

China unlocks right kind of growth - FT.com

October 18, 2012 2:26 pm

By Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing

China has never lacked for growth over the past decade but it has suffered from the wrong kind of growth, developing a dangerous reliance on investment.

Tucked into its latest economic data was evidence that the country has finally started to address this problem. Consumption clearly surpassed investment as China’s biggest growth engine, reinforcing a trend that emerged earlier this year – and something that has rarely happened over the past decade.

In the first three quarters, consumption accounted for 55 per cent of growth, while investment contributed 50.5 per cent. With external demand weak, net exports actually subtracted 5.5 per cent, according to data from the national statistics bureau.

This is exactly what everyone from Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, to the World Bank has said is necessary to make for a more sustainable economic model. In recent years, investment has accounted for nearly half of China’s total economic output, a record for a major economy in peacetime.

The ghost cities, empty apartment buildings and unused convention centres around the country are the physical manifestations of this excessive investment, and investors remain concerned that much of it will translate into bad debts for the banking sector.

So increasing consumption is unambiguously good news for China.

“It seems that the necessary rebalancing towards household consumption has begun in earnest,” said Yao Wei, an economist with Société Générale.

Mr Wen, who has been criticised for not weaning the economy off investment, also drew attention to the shift. “We have taken new steps towards structural transformation,” he said in a statement published late on Wednesday.

But it is too early to give China a clean bill of health. The economy’s strong performance at the end of the third quarter was in fact fuelled by a jump in investment, illustrating that consumption is still far from strong enough to power growth on its own.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Retail sales, the best indicator of overall consumption, have been resilient, rising 14.2 per cent year-on-year in September. However, that has not made up for a deep slump in housing construction.

Fearing that growth was on the verge of slowing too much, the government did what it does best: it cranked up investment.

The approach has been two-pronged. The National Development and Reform Commission, a powerful planning agency, has approved a series of large infrastructure projects since May. Meanwhile, the central bank has loosened monetary policy by cutting interest rates twice and injecting liquidity in money markets to ensure that these projects could obtain financing.

The fruits of these efforts began to be harvested in September. Investment in railways surged 78 per cent year-on-year and investment on roads climbed 38 per cent. This mini-boom in investment, not the resilience of consumption, was the reason that so many analysts concluded that China might be at the end of its nearly two-year-long downturn.

“These data reinforce our view that growth will rebound sharply in the fourth quarter,” said Zhang Zhiwei, an economist with Nomura.

If infrastructure spending continues to surge, it is entirely possible that the healthy trend of the first three quarters will reverse in the final three months of the year, and investment could once again overtake consumption as the biggest contributor to Chinese growth.

A brief relapse to investment-driven growth would not be the end of the world for China, but dangers would begin to mount should the investment kick last for too long.

Arthur Kroeber, managing director of GK Dragonomics, a Beijing research company, explained the predicament by way of a food analogy. China’s hefty investment over the past decade has been akin to a fattening diet of cheesecake, he wrote in a research note this week.

“This was all right for a while, but now the risk of arterial sclerosis looms,” he said.

It’s time to shift to a corrective regimen of broccoli – that is, a more efficient use of capital that engenders a rise in consumption.

“It is not as tasty, but much healthier in the long run. If China can stick to its diet, it will be an impressive economy in a decade’s time. If not, it might end up looking like Japan today, only much poorer.”

This can only be good news. The shift to domestic demand will be beneficial not just for China, but the global economy as a whole.

 

[WS-10 Engine]

Nonsense, china needs more investment, the infrastructure is desperately needed.
All this talk is of comparing china to Japan by these doomsayers that have been wrong about china for decades is getting tiring.
Without good infrastructure, there will be bottlenecks such as logistics, broadband Internet, access to electricity, etc.

China should have very high investment until infrastructure is fully developed.

Investment is when you invest in the future, consumption is when you want to get instant satisfaction at the expense of the future.
Westerners have a fetish for over consumption, consumption is not the most important thing for china right now.