China, Saudi Arabia plan joint investment fund

CHINA and Saudi Arabia plan to establish and operate jointly a US$20 billion investment fund, sharing costs and profits on a 50:50 basis, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Thursday.

Falih was speaking on the sidelines of an economic conference of senior officials and businessmen from the two countries. He said that in addition to the fund, he expected 11 business agreements worth about US$20 billion to be signed between the two sides.

Nearly 8,000 water clean-up projects launched

CHINA launched nearly 8,000 water clean-up projects in the first half of 2017 with projected total investment of 667.4 billion yuan (US$100 billion), the environment ministry said Thursday.

The projects were devised as part of a 2015 action plan to treat and prevent water pollution, and cover 325 contaminated groundwater sites across the country, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a notice. A total of 343 contaminated sites had been identified, meaning that 95 percent had drawn up plans to bring water quality up to required standards, it said.

Energy intensity falls quickly: economist

CHINA’S energy intensity is declining quickly, a government economist was quoted as saying by the State Council on its website Thursday, as the country strives to adjust its energy structure and improve energy efficiency.

Data from National Energy Administration (NEA) show that energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product in China has reduced 14.6 percent in 2013-2016 period. “Energy development in China should follow a low-carbon principle and the proportion of natural gas and non-fossil fuel in energy consumption increase,” said Guo Zhi, chief economist at the NEA. China’s installed capacity of hydropower, wind, solar and nuclear power under construction has ranked number one in the world, according to the NEA.

Coal imports from Australia up for second month

CHINESE coal imports from key supplier Australia chalked up year-on-year gains for the second straight month in July, customs data showed, as local output of the commodity eased amid a crackdown on illegal mining and pollution.

Cargoes from Australia rose 4.4 percent from July last year to 7.47 million tons, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs released Wednesday. Imports from Mongolia jumped over 30 percent in July from the year before to 2.26 million tons.