World News | China supplies power to factories as heatwave hits economy

Beijing [China]Aug. 16 (ANI): China’s Sichuan province with a population of more than 80 million announced on Monday that their factories and counties would cease operations until Saturday as heatwaves caused electricity demand to soar and dry up reservoirs.

China’s worst heatwave in six years is deepening the country’s economic challenges. Chinese officials have warned that the country may miss its 5.5 percent growth target this year. According to The Washington Post, China’s economic growth slowed to 0.4%.

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Earlier today, a spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission said China had to rely more on coal for power generation as heatwaves and drought were significantly reducing hydropower output.

Heatwaves are also expected to become more common in China as climate change worsens.

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Eleven provinces currently have warnings for temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Washington Post, Chongqing, an autonomous city surrounded by Sichuan province, hit a record 112.1 degrees over the weekend, with highs of over 104 degrees expected to continue for about a week.

China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, has sought to present itself as a global leader in climate action, touting its shift to electric vehicles and other measures. But the country continues to build new coal-fired power plants. This month, Beijing suspended bilateral climate talks with the United States in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.

China’s Sichuan province has become an international manufacturing hub in recent years because its production costs are lower than in coastal areas, with the most recent record for monthly electricity consumption in July.

Tongwei Solar, the world’s largest maker of crystalline silicon solar cells, experienced outages at three of its production sites in Sichuan, a public relations official for the company told The Washington Post by phone, declining to be named.

“Now we are working with the relevant government departments to adjust energy consumption in an orderly manner and are still evaluating the specific impact,” he was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.

Foxconn, Apple’s main assembler, told the China Securities Journal that “the impact on the company’s operations will not be significant.” Foxconn makes some Apple products in Sichuan, such as iPads and Macs.

Meanwhile, China released its latest economic data for July on Monday, showing rising unemployment and a slowing economic recovery as the new coronavirus outbreak and heatwave take their toll. Youth unemployment rose to a record 19.9%.

The number of university graduates in 2022 is expected to reach 10.76 million, surpassing 10 million for the first time, an increase of 1.67 million from 2021, the Global Times, a local media portal in China, said, citing the Ministry of Education.

Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a news conference that the surveyed urban unemployment rate in July was 5.4 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.

Meanwhile, the urban unemployment rate was 6.1% in April, 5.9% in May and 5.5% in June. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)