News Analysis The high temperatures and drought across southern China in August prompted many places in Sichuan Province to impose power cuts on industries. The disruption could affect semiconductor production in Chengdu city and directly impact Taiwanese companies and the supply chain. As a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse, Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu has attracted many international…

More than 20 million households in the United States are behind on their energy bills, according to a recent Bloomberg report based on data from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). The households in question owe a combined $16 billion in unpaid utility bills, with the average balance owed climbing to $792, a 97 percent jump since 2019. “The…

China’s factory-gate inflation index, the PPI, rose 10.7 percent from a year earlier in September—the highest level on record—driven in part by soaring energy prices, and potentially adding to global inflation pressure. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday released the figure that measures price fluctuations of goods at the factory gate. China’s producer price index…

The impact of state-enforced power cuts in parts of China is becoming evident with one example being worker unrest. Worker protests have broken out in a major city in the country’s east coast economic center the Yangtze Delta, due to lower wages and shortened work hours caused by power restrictions put on factories. In the…

Since Oct. 2, China’s largest coal-producing province, Shanxi, has experienced continuous heavy rain, affecting more than 70 districts and cities in the province. The unceasing downpour has resulted in floods, landslides, road closures, and the suspension of 60 of its coal mines. The flooding in Shanxi province comes less than three months after the flooding…

China’s power cuts and blackouts have affected more than 19 provinces, causing factories to shut down and disrupting the global supply chain. Several Apple and Tesla suppliers and companies in the chemical industry suspended their production, which caused the prices of raw materials to soar. Chinese news portal Sohu reported on Sept. 28 that workers…

Commentary The growing power shortage in China has spread to Beijing and Shanghai, while residents in northeastern China—the hardest hit area—are stockpiling candles. I still remember the bitter cold winter during the 1960s in Liaoning, a coastal province bordering North Korea. In local elementary schools, the classrooms were freezing cold and students took turns lighting…

Power cuts and blackouts, which initially halted production at Chinese factories, have spread to homes in the northeast part of the country, triggering accidents and major disruptions to daily life. Official explanations of the country’s widening power shortage, now affecting several regions across the northeast, have been scant. Jilin province blamed a shortage of coal…

Power cuts and blackouts, which initially halted production at Chinese factories, have spread to homes in the northeast part of the country, triggering accidents and major disruptions to daily life. Official explanations of the country’s widening power shortage, now affecting several regions across the northeast, have been scant. Jilin Province blamed a shortage of coal…

From late September, China has been facing another round of major electricity shortfalls since last winter. At least a dozen provinces have issued power curbing or rationing orders. Foreign trade SMEs—small- and medium-sized enterprises, which are engaged in foreign trade—are severely impacted by the orders. Textile dyeing and printing industries in China’s eastern Zhejiang Province are…