China must beware ‘grey rhino’ of primary commodities shortage, top policymaker warns

Name: Life with no power: Why some major cities in China are having to ration electricity
Uploaded: 2021-12-11T13:20:50.000Z
Duration: 3 min 30 s
Description: Life with no power: Why some major cities in China are having to ration electricity

Scarcities in other countries remind China that primary commodities supply is a strategic issue, Han Wenxiu says as he discusses central economic work conference

Stability is a stand-out theme in the 4,700-word statement issued after the conference, which sets the blueprint for the next year’s economic policies

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Soybean is among the commodities that rely heavily on exports, a senior policymaker said. Photo: Xinhua

Orange Wang

Published: 9:20pm, 11 Dec 2021Updated: 2:00pm, 12 Dec 2021

China should be on guard about a “grey rhino” crisis caused by shortages of primary commodities such as agricultural products, minerals and fuel, the country’s senior economic policymaker has warned.

Han Wenxiu, a deputy director of the Communist Party’s Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, made the warning as he elaborated on decisions made in the three-day central economic work conference, which ended on Friday.

He said the shortages of these commodities faced by some countries this year highlighted that they could represent a “grey rhino” – an obvious yet ignored threat – to China, too.

“The shortage and chaos faced by some countries and regions earlier this year reminds us that [the supply of primary commodities] is a strategic issue related to the overall situation,” Han said at a forum in Beijing on Saturday. “Our country has a relatively high reliance on imports for primary commodities.

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Life with no power: Why some major cities in China are having to ration electricity

“Some commodities, like petroleum, iron ore, copper and soybean, have a high reliance of 70 or even 80 per cent on imports.