Yesterday, news emerged that China’s Ministry of Land and Resources planned to start building strategic reserves for uranium, iron, copper and other key raw materials, along with accelerating construction of strategic petroleum and coal reserves, as major components of government's next official five-year plan.
The ministry aims to increase proven reserves of oil from 4,5 to 5bn metric tons and of natural gas from 2 to 2,25trn cubic metres of natural gas. It wants reserves of 100bn tons of coal, 5bn tons of iron, 20m tons of copper and 200m tons of bauxite (the first raw material used in aluminium production) by 2010.
In another development, the Chinese State Information Centre said in the official China Securities Journal that the country’s economic growth is expected to remain at or near 10% for the second and third quarters of 2006. Growth will ease marginally to around 9,8% in the second quarter, before picking up again to 10% in the third quarter, according to the journal.
Meanwhile, the Gulf crude oil states are consuming raw materials at a rate never seen, and petrodollars are finding home investments. The International Monetary Fund anticipates that crude oil states will generate current account surpluses of $480bn in 2006, three times that of China.
The ministry aims to increase proven reserves of oil from 4,5 to 5bn metric tons and of natural gas from 2 to 2,25trn cubic metres of natural gas. It wants reserves of 100bn tons of coal, 5bn tons of iron, 20m tons of copper and 200m tons of bauxite (the first raw material used in aluminium production) by 2010.
In another development, the Chinese State Information Centre said in the official China Securities Journal that the country’s economic growth is expected to remain at or near 10% for the second and third quarters of 2006. Growth will ease marginally to around 9,8% in the second quarter, before picking up again to 10% in the third quarter, according to the journal.
Meanwhile, the Gulf crude oil states are consuming raw materials at a rate never seen, and petrodollars are finding home investments. The International Monetary Fund anticipates that crude oil states will generate current account surpluses of $480bn in 2006, three times that of China.
