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### Viewing cable 06BEIJING24258, CHINA/COAL: VISIT TO SHANXI PROVINCE MINE BRINGS ISSUES TO

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06BEIJING24258 | 2006-12-04 03:58 | 2011-08-23 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Beijing

`

    VZCZCXRO4895
    RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
    DE RUEHBJ #4258/01 3380358
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 040358Z DEC 06
    FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2691
    INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
    RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
    RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
    RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 024258

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS
    SENSITIVE

    STATE FOR EAP/CM GWARD AND PSECOR, EB/ESC PHAYMOND
    STATE FOR OES/WATSON AND DEROSA-JOYNT
    STATE PASS TO CEQ CONNAUGHTON
    NSC FOR RHUNTER, JSHRIER, DWILDER
    USDOE for DOE OIC DPUMPHREY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY for
    MWILLIAMSON
    TRESURY FOR OASIA/ISA ADAMS/DOHNER/CUSHMAN
    USDOC FOR 4220/ITA/MAC/CMMCQUEEN/HAMROCK
    USDOC FOR 1003/ITA/OUS/OC
    USDOC FOR 6310/ITA/TD/OIEM/KMURPHY/HBURROUHGS
    UDDOC FOR 6000/ITA/TD/RPACE
    EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL/AYRES, FIDLER, MCASKILL
    HHS FOR STEIGER, ELVANDER AND BHAT

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: ENRG PREL ETRD SENV TRGY CH
    SUBJECT: CHINA/COAL: VISIT TO SHANXI PROVINCE MINE BRINGS ISSUES TO
    THE SURFACE

    Summary
    -------

    ¶1. (SBU) Coal is likely to provide 65 to 70 percent of China's
    energy needs for at least the next 20 years, according to industry
    estimates, yet the sector itself faces widespread challenges related
    to transportation, industry restructuring, profitability, and
    safety.  All of these problems were on display, or came up for
    discussion, during Econoffs' recent visit to a large coal company in
    Shanxi Province.  Company officials said their ability to generate
    profits is compromised by the requirement to provide social services
    for over 250,000 workers and dependents.  They described extensive
    transportation bottlenecks as they work towards doubling output over
    the next five years.  They also complained about unfairness in who
    gains from coal extraction, alleging that downstream consumers, such
    as power companies, use their influence to capture returns that
    should go to miners who toil in dangerous conditions.  This view was
    partly contested by two industry observers based in Beijing.  End
    Summary.

    Coal Mine Visit Background
    --------------------------

    ¶2. (SBU) In late November 2006, Econoff and Embassy Labor Officer
    visited the Yangquan Coal Industry Group Company (YCG) in Shanxi
    Province to tour a company coal mine and meet with YCG and Chinese
    Government officials.  Emboffs toured YCG's Xinjing mine which
    participates in a United States Department of Labor (USDOL) mine
    safety management and training project. Additionally, Emboffs
    visited an underground mine safety training center, toured other
    facilities at the Xinjing mine, and held broad ranging mine safety
    and coal sector discussions with YCG and Chinese Government
    officials. (Note: Please see septel for information relating to
    YCG's participation in  the USDOL mine safety program. End Note.)

    YCG: Impressive Production and Sales Statistics...
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶3. (SBU) YCG is a large state-owned enterprise (SOE) comprised of
    more than twenty separate companies, including one publicly listed
    on the Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses.  Individual companies within
    the group are involved in the coal, electricity, aluminum, and
    property construction and development sectors.  The company's seven
    operational mines in 2005 had a combined output of 30.8 million
    metric tons of coal.  Company officials stated their goal is to
    double coal output in the next five years.  YCG had sales revenues
    topping one billion USD in 2005 and the company expects to triple
    its sales revenue within the next ten years.

    ...Resulting from a Commodities Based Business Plan...
    --------------------------------------------- ---------

    ¶4. (SBU) Company officials stated that over the past several years,
    YCG has gone from being strictly in the coal mining business to
    becoming a commodities company.    The company recognizes that by
    using more advanced technology and management techniques it can
    differentiate its coal product streams.  This approach allows YCG to
    separate more valuable coal products, such as blast furnace coal,
    from lower-grade and lower-cost coal, such as that used for heating
    purposes.  Company officials stated that this transition has
    increased the company's profitability and justifies ongoing company
    spending on technology and training.

    ¶5. (SBU) Company officials said that they plan to expand
    productivity and improve worker safety through adoption of the
    latest mining technology.  As an example of the technology
    investments the company is making, YCG officials gave Emboffs a tour
    of the Xinjing mine's operations center.  The computerized
    operations center has real-time video feeds from throughout the
    mine, monitors environmental conditions such as methane gas levels,

    BEIJING 00024258  002 OF 004

    and tracks the operational status of major pieces of equipment. The
    operations center is also testing a helmet-mounted miner location
    system that provides a real-time location of each  working miner.
    (Note: A unique feature of the miner location system is its ability
    to differentiate Communist Party members from non-members.  The
    system does so by the color of helmet used to display the miners'
    location-red helmets from Party members and black for non-members.
    End Note.)

    ...Compromised By A Legacy SOE Structure
    ----------------------------------------

    ¶6. (SBU) YCG officials stated that the company's  financial success
    is being tempered by its requirement to provide for its large number
    of employees and dependants.  The company has some 100,000
    employees, 40,000 of whom are involved in coal mining, and is
    responsible for providing social services to around 250,000-300,000
    workers and dependents.  The company's social service
    responsibilities include provision of health care, housing, and
    primary and secondary education, according to company officials.
    Additionally, the company operates its own police and fire
    departments as well as providing some basic utility services to its
    employees, such as home heating and cooking gas.

    Transportation Difficulties Limit Production...
    --------------------------------------------- --

    ¶7. (SBU) YCG officials noted that transportation difficulties are
    impeding the company's coal production output.  The company could
    safely increase its production by 20 percent if it had more
    transportation resources available.  Company officials estimate that
    the company ships 75 percent of its production by truck with the
    remainder moving by rail.  The Yangquan area has one main rail line
    and roadway linking it to the rest of the province.  The expressway
    is heavily burdened with traffic and is subject to weather-related
    closures. (Note: On the day of Emboffs arrival in Shanxi Province,
    the expressway was closed for several hours due to heavy fog.  End
    Note.)  YCG officials stated that they must compete with railway
    passenger cars for access to the one rail line in and out of the
    area.

    ...But Officials Hopeful They Can Be Resolved
    ---------------------------------------------

    ¶8. (SBU) YCG officials stated that they are hopeful that their
    transportation difficulties can be overcome during the next five
    years. The company is negotiating with Ministry of Railways to shift
    some passenger service away from the area to allow for more freight
    traffic.  Company officials stated that they are working with
    government officials from neighboring Hebei Province, the over-road
    destination for much of the company's coal, to explore how to expand
    the capacity of the expressway connecting the two areas.  (Comment:
    Beyond these two examples, company officials offered little insight
    as to how they would surmount transportation limitations while
    concomitantly doubling coal output during the next five years. End
    Comment.)

    YCG: Market, Other Factors Raising Coal Prices...
    --------------------------------------------- ----

    ¶9. (SBU) YCG officials, in response to a question from Econoff,
    stated that the perception large SOE Chinese coal companies are
    earning too much money is ridiculous.  Demand for coal in China is
    growing rapidly, and it is only natural that prices would rise as
    well, according to company officials.  The officials said that more
    stringent environmental and work safety standards leveled on the
    company, along with other large state-owned mining companies, are
    contributing to rising prices as well.  YCG and other large SOE coal
    producers earn around 100-120 RMB for every metric ton they produce,
    according to YCG officials.  Small, private producers which are not
    making similar mine safety and environmental protection investments

    BEIJING 00024258  003 OF 004

    are much more profitable, earning 200 RMB for every ton produced.

    ¶10. (SBU) We note that "small" coal mines in China are most
    frequently defined as those with less than 30,000 metric tons of
    coal production per year.  In 2004, the Chinese Government estimated
    that there were some 23,000 small mines in China.  The China Coal
    Industry Association estimates that small, private coal mines
    account for one-third of total Chinese coal output. These producers
    also account for more than two-thirds of China's reported coal mine
    accident fatalities.

    ...But Others Earn Too Much From Our Work
    -----------------------------------------

    ¶11. (SBU) YCG officials complained that coal mining is a very
    dangerous business and thousands lose their lives each year in
    mines, yet downstream consumers , such as power companies, have used
    their political and economic influence to earn large profits to
    ensure that their employees receive generous salaries and benefits.
    It is not unreasonable for coal companies to seek the same benefits,
    they said.  Separately, a Central Government mine safety official
    claimed that it is well known that Chinese power companies earn too
    much money, much of it at the expense of coal companies, and that
    their employees are compensated too well for the work they perform.

    Power Companies Offer Different Take on Prices
    --------------------------------------------- -
    ¶12. (SBU) In a separate meeting held in Beijing,  Xiao Jun, Deputy
    General Manager for International Cooperation at the China Huaneng
    Group, told Econoff that power companies' profit margins are being
    cut by rising Chinese coal prices.  Huaneng this year threatened to
    buy coal from Australia when negotiating coal prices with domestic
    coal producers.  This tactic provided some temporary leverage over
    domestic producers, but is not a long-term solution to rising coal
    costs, said Xiao.
    ¶13. (SBU) Dr. Chi Zhang, a power analyst with Cambridge Energy
    Research Associate's Beijing office, said that Huaneng's complaints
    result from China's regulated electricity prices not keeping pace
    with market-based coal prices. The Central Government in 2005
    developed the "coal pass through system" in an effort to address
    this problem. The system is intended to allow the regulated
    electricity price to increase in order to pass increased coal costs
    to power consumers.  Dr. Chi noted that the problem from the power
    companies' perspective is that only 70 percent of the coal price
    increase can be passed to power consumers. Power generators must
    absorb the remaining 30 percent of the coal cost increase and this
    is eroding their profit margins.
    YCG's Contempt Leading To Its Own Downstream Plans
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶14. (SBU) YCG officials stated that during the nexQ years they
    want to expand into the power generation business.  The company
    generates power for its own use and provides some limited resources
    to the local area.  YCG currently uses coal to fuel its power
    generation plant, but expects to turn to mine-mouth gas to power the
    company's foray into commercial power generation, said company
    officials.  YCG officials explained that their plan is to sell the
    power onto the national power grid.

    ¶15. (SBU) Note: China's largest coal company, the Shenhua Group, has
    already made this move.  Shenhua will generate around 10 gigawatts
    of electricity at its power plants in 2006 and plans to expand its
    production in the coming years.  Chinese power companies are also
    experimenting with expanding into the upstream coal mining business.
     The Huaneng Group owns and operates several of its own coal mines,
    but company executives told Econoff that so far they consider they
    experiment to be disappointing. End Note.

    Comment: Visit Lays Bare Issues Facing Coal Sector
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    BEIJING 00024258  004 OF 004

    ¶16. (SBU) Comment: Emboffs visit to YCG highlighted many of the
    issues facing China's coal sector.  Coal production in 2006 will top
    2 billion metric tons and will be used to meet 70 percent of China's
    overall energy needs.  Even the most optimistic forecasts have coal
    meeting at least 65 percent of China's energy needs for the next 20
    to 25 years.  The coal sector is beset with safety problems with
    almost 6,000 reported deaths in 2005, hamstrung by transportation
    woes, and is increasingly being blamed for environmental problems.
    Beijing's answer to these problems has been to call for greater
    consolidation in the sector.  This should result in increased
    reliance on large SOE coal producers such as YCG and Shenhua.  In
    particular, Beijing believes that its oversight over the large SOEs
    will allow it to enforce more stringent safety and environmental
    regulations.

    ¶17. (SBU) Based on our visit and discussions with industry
    representatives, it is clear that the most glaring problem with
    Beijing's plan is that the country's rising coal demand outstrips
    the ability of large SOE coal companies to make up for production
    lost by closing small mines while simultaneously meeting rising coal
    demand.  Beijing's strategy also is being undermined by local
    governments' efforts to preserve local jobs and maintain tax revenue
    from small producers.  It is unclear how long it will take for
    Beijing's consolidation plan to work, if it ever will.  In the near
    term, the largest SOE producers will continue their march towards
    world-class status by becoming more technologically advanced, more
    efficient, and more profitable.  Meanwhile, despite Beijing's
    efforts, China's thousands of highly profitable small-sized mines
    will continue Q often unsafe and environmentally unfriendly
    production in order to help meet China's growing demand for coal.
    End Comment.

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