A large part of China is in the midst of a growing power supply crunch that has forced factories to cut production and brought major disruptions to daily life. While authorities have remained largely silent on the causes of the supply shortage, analysts say the power crunch, which has hit more than 10 provinces in China’s east, is the result of the country’s reliance on coal, its import ban on Australian coal, and Beijing’s tightening of energy consumption and emissions standards in its bid to tackle climate change. Since last December, factories in the country’s industrial hubs, including eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, have encountered the local government’s order to halt production during peak hours. But the situation has worsened in the past week, with three northeastern provinces experiencing “unexpected and unprecedented” power cuts on Monday, state-run tabloid Global Times reported. Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang had been power rationing since last …