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Industry Overview

China is rich of coal resources. China’s verified exploitable reserves reached 1.3 trillion tons in 2008. China is heavily reliant on coal, which accounts for 70% of the country’s preliminary energy consumption, 40% higher than the world’s average. The proportion of oil, gas and nuclear accounts for 20%. In addition to coal-fired power generation, coal is critical to the development of China’s metallurgical, building materials and chemical industries.

In 2008, China’s output of raw coal reached 2.79 billion tons, accounting for 75% of the output of primary energy source in China. In the year, China consumed 2.75 billion tons of coal, about 70% of the country’s total energy consumption. Shenhua Group and China National Coal Group are the two leading coal producers in China, each with an annual production of over 100 million tons. While meeting the growing demand for coal domestically, Chinese coal producers also actively participate in international coal trading. Since 1990, China’s coal trade volume totaled 900 million tons with a net export of 700 million tons.

About 90% of coal mining equipment used in China is produced domestically. Chinese companies are developing the capacity to manufacture high-tech mining equipment, such as super-power electric haulage shearers, hydraulic support systems, and armored face conveyers. Nevertheless, most of the mining equipment produced in China still remains 10 to 15 years behind that of other countries with respect to mining efficiency, equipment quality, environmental protection of mines, and safety. U.S. coal mining equipment manufacturers and coal mine investors have prospects for long-term opportunities in China’s coal industry.

Market Opportunities

Because of the continued importance of coal in quenching China’s thirst for energy, improving cleanliness of coal extraction and combustion is critical to reducing overall emissions. Clean energy-efficient products that are needed in this sector include: coal beneficiation products, coal mine methane extraction technologies, gas turbines, circulating fluidized bed boilers, pollution control technologies such as desulphurization technologies, and coal conversion technologies such as advanced pulverized coal gasifiers.

Due to an insufficient supply of electricity, China will continue to invest heavily in coal production. Many analysts predict that China will need to invest over $151 billion in coal infrastructure by 2020. The investment will cover the following areas:

* Construction of new coal mines and coal bases

* Improvement of coal mine safety

* Clean coal processing technology

* Coal conversion technology (including coal liquefaction and coal gasification)

* Coal bed methane development and utilization

In order to improve mine management and to increase coal production, the Chinese government has established new policies to encourage foreign investment. This shift in policy has included granting foreign companies the rights for mineral geological exploration.

Best Prospects

U.S. companies enjoy their greatest competitive advantage in supplying heavy coal mining machines and systems. For underground mining, U.S. firms compete well in the following categories: longwall shearers, stageloaders, continuous miners, batch haulage vehicles, road headers, hydraulic roof support systems, and armored face conveyors. For open-pit mining, U.S. firms have good prospects in the following categories: electric mining shovels, walking draglines, blast hole drills, and heavy mining trucks.

Coal mine safety remains a critical issue in China. In 2008, China suffered 1,091 coal mine accidents resulting in fatalities ( The number of coal mine accidents was 3,786 in 2007). In order to address the issue of safety, the Chinese government closed 1054 small coal mines in 2008 following the closure of 2,969 such coal mines in 2007 (below 30,000 tons of production capacity) that the government determined were unsafe. According to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, China will invest $6 billion over the next several years to purchase safety equipment for large state-owned coal mines. This investment will create significant opportunities for foreign companies to export safety equipment to China. Best prospects include: coal mining safety equipment, security equipment, gas control systems, and fire monitoring and control equipment.

Major Shows & Exhibitions

This section provides a listing of upcoming coal and mining equipment-related events in China, including industry shows and trade missions. While FCS China is directly involved with some of these events, the majority here have no direct relationship with the FCS and are listed solely as a convenience to our users.

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