China to crack down on commodity supply and prices
China will work to ensure the supply of commodities and keep their prices stable, to maintain steady economic performance, according to China’s State Council’s Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
Li said “We must carefully analyse the reasons behind this round of rapid increase in commodity prices and focus on the crux of the issue, to adopt measures in a targeted and holistic approach. While the market continues to play a decisive role in resources allocation to ensure the supply of commodities and keep their prices stable, the government must better fulfil its responsibility. Any monopoly and hoarding will be cracked down upon under the law to step up market regulation.”
A host of steps were decided to strengthen two-way adjustment of supply and demand, including raising export tariffs on certain iron and steel products, temporarily exempting tariffs on pig iron and scrap steel, and cancelling export tax rebates for some steel products, to increase supply in the domestic market.
Dedicated efforts will be made to advance structural adjustments and discourage projects with high energy consumption. The country’s rich coal resources will be further tapped. Key coal companies will be encouraged to raise production and supply while ensuring safety and the capacity of wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power will be increased to ensure energy supply during summer peak time.
