Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHENGDU122
2009-07-09 09:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chengdu
Cable title:
SOUTHWEST CHINA: ENERGY EFFICIENCY UP AS OFFICIALS EMPHASIZE
how-toVZCZCXRO6370 RR RUEHGH RUEHVC DE RUEHCN #0122/01 1900910 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 090910Z JUL 09 FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3295 INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3970
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000122
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON CH
SUBJECT: SOUTHWEST CHINA: ENERGY EFFICIENCY UP AS OFFICIALS EMPHASIZE
FAMILIAR TACTICS
CHENGDU 00000122 001.2 OF 002
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000122
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON CH
SUBJECT: SOUTHWEST CHINA: ENERGY EFFICIENCY UP AS OFFICIALS EMPHASIZE
FAMILIAR TACTICS
CHENGDU 00000122 001.2 OF 002
1. (U) This cable contains sensitive but unclassified
information - not for distribution on the Internet.
2. (SBU) Summary: Industrial energy efficiency progress was
highlighted in a recent government-sponsored conference held in
Chengdu, which drew little attention despite government emphasis
on publicizing the importance of energy efficiency. Consulate
local contacts remarked that these conferences are disconnected
from reality, and they have little interest in attending them.
That said, Chinese government statistics released in late June
show that provinces and municipalities in the Southwest are
becoming more energy efficient, although the most substantial
indicators of improvement come from a narrow statistical
definition of industrial value added production. End Summary.
Energy Efficiency through Structural Adjustment and Technology
-------------- --------------
3. (U) More than 130 guests from around China attended the 2009
China Industrial Energy Efficiency Conference held in Chengdu
from June 30 - July 1, according to an employee with the Center
for Industrial Efficiency that helped organize the event.
Officials from Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and other provinces
filled the schedule on the first day of the conference. On the
second day, representatives from industry associations including
coal, cement, oil and gas, and nonferrous metals each gave short
presentations. In his opening speech, Wang Jianming, Deputy
Director of Sichuan's Provincial Economic Commission emphasized
promoting energy-saving technology, particularly in targeted
industrial sectors.
4. (U) Wang highlighted long-standing themes in China's energy
efficiency drive including eliminating small, inefficient
production and improving legal and administrative oversight of
industry. Sichuan seeks to become more energy efficient by
increasing the value-added component of manufacturing and
stream-lining supply chains. This implies a structural shift in
Sichuan's economy - which Wang raised separately - to greater
secondary and tertiary production. A vice president from the
China Cement Association said that the cement industry was
saving energy by increasing production of a new kind of concrete
and eliminating less energy efficient cement production. A
deputy secretary from China's Coal Processing and Utilization
Association similarly emphasized industrial efficiency and
technological advances to reduce energy consumption.
Media Coverage Low, Some Contacts Question Value
-------------- ---
5. (SBU) Local media are often invited to attend events and
encouraged to report on topics the provincial government seeks
to publicize, but the days following the conference saw very few
such stories. Despite Wang's call to increase publicity around
energy saving, a Sichuan government-affiliated website was the
only local outlet with significant information on the
conference. Even a portal website for energy-related
information (www.China5e.com) did not appear to have any stories
on the event. The Center for Industrial Energy Efficiency ran
an article on the Chinese language portion of their website, and
posted a short article on the English language portion of the
site.
6. (SBU) Some of Congenoff's local contacts are skeptical about
the value of participating in government-sponsored conferences
like this one. One environmental NGO contact recently told
Congenoff that government-sponsored conferences focus on things
officials care about (guan shi),but he is more focused on
reality (shi shi). He implied that is why he would not attend a
conference like this one on energy efficiency. A separate
contact with an academic background has lamented that during
CHENGDU 00000122 002.2 OF 002
formal events, local officials often convey only the official
government line.
New Statistics Show Energy Efficiency Gains
--------------
7. (SBU) Recently released Chinese government energy efficiency
figures for calendar year 2008 show that while Southwest China's
provinces and municipalities are becoming more energy efficient,
they still lag behind the more prosperous coastal
municipalities. Chongqing municipality, Guizhou Province,
Yunnan Province, and Sichuan Province all showed energy
reductions per unit of GDP of between about 3.5 - 6 percent
compared to the previous year. Data for the Tibetan Autonomous
Region was excluded from the national report. Since the
beginning of the 11th Five-Year Program (FYP) in 2005, the three
provinces and one municipality have recorded 9.7 - 11.5 percent
declines. This is only about half of the reduction that China
targeted nationally during the FYP, however. Guizhou Province
is the least energy efficient province in China, according to
the new report, using roughly 4 times more energy than does
Beijing municipality to generate a unit of GDP. Chongqing,
Sichuan, and Yunnan, while significantly more efficient than
Guizhou, all rank in the bottom half of the list.
8. (SBU) Southwest China's gains in energy efficiency, when
measured relative to industrial value added production (IVA),
were substantially greater than those measured relative to GDP.
Sichuan's efficiency on an IVA basis showed a 5.6 percent
decline last year compared to 2007, and Chongqing showed a 12.6
percent reduction during the same period. Official figures for
Southwest China's show 20 - 30 percent declines in energy
consumption per unit of IVA since the start of the FYP.
Comment: Statistician Can't Explain Troubling Inconsistency
-------------- --------------
9. (SBU) Congenoff found the rather modest declines in energy
consumption per unit of GDP surprising given the 30 percent
decline in Sichuan's energy consumption as a portion of IVA.
Industry in Sichuan accounted for 71-75 percent of energy
consumption from 2005 - 2007, according to official government
statistics. However, when questioned about the large difference
between the figures, an official at the Sichuan Bureau of
Statistics (SBS) explained only by saying that IVA did not
include all secondary production, which is mining,
manufacturing, power generation, and construction. Official
statistics show that IVA as the official defined it, accounted
for about 34-37 percent of provincial GDP from 2005-2007, but
still does not seem to explain the large disparity between IVA
efficiency and overall efficiency. The official at SBS during a
follow up phone call was unable to explain this statistical
inconsistency - how this murkily defined IVA exceeded the 20
percent reduction in the FYP target but energy efficiency
relative to GDP did not.
BOUGHNER
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/CM
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON CH
SUBJECT: SOUTHWEST CHINA: ENERGY EFFICIENCY UP AS OFFICIALS EMPHASIZE
FAMILIAR TACTICS
CHENGDU 00000122 001.2 OF 002
1. (U) This cable contains sensitive but unclassified
information - not for distribution on the Internet.
2. (SBU) Summary: Industrial energy efficiency progress was
highlighted in a recent government-sponsored conference held in
Chengdu, which drew little attention despite government emphasis
on publicizing the importance of energy efficiency. Consulate
local contacts remarked that these conferences are disconnected
from reality, and they have little interest in attending them.
That said, Chinese government statistics released in late June
show that provinces and municipalities in the Southwest are
becoming more energy efficient, although the most substantial
indicators of improvement come from a narrow statistical
definition of industrial value added production. End Summary.
Energy Efficiency through Structural Adjustment and Technology
-------------- --------------
3. (U) More than 130 guests from around China attended the 2009
China Industrial Energy Efficiency Conference held in Chengdu
from June 30 - July 1, according to an employee with the Center
for Industrial Efficiency that helped organize the event.
Officials from Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and other provinces
filled the schedule on the first day of the conference. On the
second day, representatives from industry associations including
coal, cement, oil and gas, and nonferrous metals each gave short
presentations. In his opening speech, Wang Jianming, Deputy
Director of Sichuan's Provincial Economic Commission emphasized
promoting energy-saving technology, particularly in targeted
industrial sectors.
4. (U) Wang highlighted long-standing themes in China's energy
efficiency drive including eliminating small, inefficient
production and improving legal and administrative oversight of
industry. Sichuan seeks to become more energy efficient by
increasing the value-added component of manufacturing and
stream-lining supply chains. This implies a structural shift in
Sichuan's economy - which Wang raised separately - to greater
secondary and tertiary production. A vice president from the
China Cement Association said that the cement industry was
saving energy by increasing production of a new kind of concrete
and eliminating less energy efficient cement production. A
deputy secretary from China's Coal Processing and Utilization
Association similarly emphasized industrial efficiency and
technological advances to reduce energy consumption.
Media Coverage Low, Some Contacts Question Value
-------------- ---
5. (SBU) Local media are often invited to attend events and
encouraged to report on topics the provincial government seeks
to publicize, but the days following the conference saw very few
such stories. Despite Wang's call to increase publicity around
energy saving, a Sichuan government-affiliated website was the
only local outlet with significant information on the
conference. Even a portal website for energy-related
information (www.China5e.com) did not appear to have any stories
on the event. The Center for Industrial Energy Efficiency ran
an article on the Chinese language portion of their website, and
posted a short article on the English language portion of the
site.
6. (SBU) Some of Congenoff's local contacts are skeptical about
the value of participating in government-sponsored conferences
like this one. One environmental NGO contact recently told
Congenoff that government-sponsored conferences focus on things
officials care about (guan shi),but he is more focused on
reality (shi shi). He implied that is why he would not attend a
conference like this one on energy efficiency. A separate
contact with an academic background has lamented that during
CHENGDU 00000122 002.2 OF 002
formal events, local officials often convey only the official
government line.
New Statistics Show Energy Efficiency Gains
--------------
7. (SBU) Recently released Chinese government energy efficiency
figures for calendar year 2008 show that while Southwest China's
provinces and municipalities are becoming more energy efficient,
they still lag behind the more prosperous coastal
municipalities. Chongqing municipality, Guizhou Province,
Yunnan Province, and Sichuan Province all showed energy
reductions per unit of GDP of between about 3.5 - 6 percent
compared to the previous year. Data for the Tibetan Autonomous
Region was excluded from the national report. Since the
beginning of the 11th Five-Year Program (FYP) in 2005, the three
provinces and one municipality have recorded 9.7 - 11.5 percent
declines. This is only about half of the reduction that China
targeted nationally during the FYP, however. Guizhou Province
is the least energy efficient province in China, according to
the new report, using roughly 4 times more energy than does
Beijing municipality to generate a unit of GDP. Chongqing,
Sichuan, and Yunnan, while significantly more efficient than
Guizhou, all rank in the bottom half of the list.
8. (SBU) Southwest China's gains in energy efficiency, when
measured relative to industrial value added production (IVA),
were substantially greater than those measured relative to GDP.
Sichuan's efficiency on an IVA basis showed a 5.6 percent
decline last year compared to 2007, and Chongqing showed a 12.6
percent reduction during the same period. Official figures for
Southwest China's show 20 - 30 percent declines in energy
consumption per unit of IVA since the start of the FYP.
Comment: Statistician Can't Explain Troubling Inconsistency
-------------- --------------
9. (SBU) Congenoff found the rather modest declines in energy
consumption per unit of GDP surprising given the 30 percent
decline in Sichuan's energy consumption as a portion of IVA.
Industry in Sichuan accounted for 71-75 percent of energy
consumption from 2005 - 2007, according to official government
statistics. However, when questioned about the large difference
between the figures, an official at the Sichuan Bureau of
Statistics (SBS) explained only by saying that IVA did not
include all secondary production, which is mining,
manufacturing, power generation, and construction. Official
statistics show that IVA as the official defined it, accounted
for about 34-37 percent of provincial GDP from 2005-2007, but
still does not seem to explain the large disparity between IVA
efficiency and overall efficiency. The official at SBS during a
follow up phone call was unable to explain this statistical
inconsistency - how this murkily defined IVA exceeded the 20
percent reduction in the FYP target but energy efficiency
relative to GDP did not.
BOUGHNER