Polluting Firms to Be Closed Down in Nationwide Crackdown

China will continue to close down small enterprises which waste resources and damage the environment, according to officials.

Small coal mines, oil refineries and other ecologically-unsound businesses will attract the most attention in the fight to eliminate outdated production methods, according to the State Economic and Trade Commission.

The action is in response to moves in some regions to allow environmentally unsound operations to restart production because of market demand.

China had closed down 36,000 illegal and badly placed coal mines by the end of June this year, a move which reduced production by 302 million tons.

It also closed 5,600 oil refineries in the first half of the year, sources with the commission said.

Small coal mines, cement plants, oil refineries, steel factories and thermal power plants in China have been blamed for a range of problems.

These range from causing a production surplus to having bad safety records, according to Shi Wanpeng, vice-minister of the commission.

To address the problem of product stockpiles and a downturn in economic efficiency, efforts to close down these mines and plants should never be relaxed, Shi said.

China produced 452 million tons of coal between January and June this year, down by 40 million tons from the same period last year. As a result, coal prices began to rise, reducing the sector's losses by 460 million yuan (US$55 million), according to Shi.

He said the country would improve laws and regulatory provisions to ban production by firms that churned out products of poor quality.

Enterprises which failed to meet workplace safety requirements and contaminated the environment would be shut down, he added.

In addition, banks will be encouraged not to grant loans to redundant projects, or projects with outdated production capacities, according to the vice-minister.

Administrative means, including power cuts and revoking operation licences and permits, will also be employed to ensure the success of the shut-down drive, he added.



People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/