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China-Russia relations
ChinaDiplomacy

China looks to Russian coal to help ease its power shortage crisis

  • Suifenhe railway port in northeastern province of Heilongjiang improves logistical arrangements to receive more coal deliveries
  • Electricity supplies from Russia via the Amurskaya-Heihe transmission line were last week tripled

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Some Chinese provinces have introduced electricity rationing with the country facing a power shortage. Photo: AFP
Teddy Ngin Hong KongandLaura Zhouin Beijing
China’s attempts to address its power shortage have received a boost through efforts to increase imports of coal and electricity from Russia, according to state media and government agencies.
The country’s overall coal purchases in September rose 17 per cent month on month to 32.9 million tonnes, the highest this year, according to the customs authority on Wednesday, as the government moved to ensure stable energy supply before the peak winter demand.
An energy crunch brought about by shortages and record high prices for fuel has prompted the government to take various measures to boost coal production and control electricity demand. Some provinces have introduced electricity-rationing measures.
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Vladimir Oschepkov, the Russian consul general in the Chinese city of Harbin – in Heilongjiang province, near the border with Russia – was on October 1 quoted by Russian news agency TASS as saying that import of Russian coal to Heilongjiang had fallen by 40 per cent since the start of the year because of tightened pandemic measures and a shortage of railway wagons.

But steps have since been taken to revive those imports, according to reports. State-run Xinhua on Wednesday said the Suifenhe railway port in Heilongjiang had improved logistical arrangements to facilitate coal delivery. More than 5,000 tonnes of coal a day were delivered via the port during the week of October 1 to 7, it said.

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China’s state grid last week said electricity supplies from Russia to China through the Amurskaya-Heihe transmission line had increased from five to 16 hours a day, which “largely alleviates the tense situation with the power supply”.

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