Authorities in the Asian nation have ordered
hundreds of factories to curb activity ahead of the Group of 20 summit in
Hangzhou in early September, in a bid to ensure blue skies when the red carpet
is rolled out. The curtailments, may cut petroleum demand in the world’s
second-biggest oil consumer by 250,000 barrels a day in the third quarter.
President Xi Jinping is
expected to showcase his nation’s strengths at the G-20 summit, which will host
leaders of countries that account for two-thirds of the world’s population and
85 percent of its economic output. They are gathering at a time of slowing
trade and tepid global growth.
China has a history of enacting temporary
environmental measures to clean the air before hosting major events, which have
affected commodity prices. Before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, small coal
mines in the northern provinces of Shanxi and Hebei were ordered to shut. That
exacerbated a supply shortage of the fuel, sending local prices to a record
ahead of the Games.
Iron-ore prices slumped in 2014 when the Chinese
government ordered some steel mills in the world’s largest buyer to suspend
production before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing.
They again tumbled last year ahead of closures before the
world track and field championships and a parade to mark the 70th anniversary
of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
For G-20, Shanghai, which is 180 kilometers (112
miles) northeast of Hangzhou, has asked 255 companies, including coal-power
plants and oil refineries, to curb output from Aug. 24 to Sept. 6, according to
a statement on the website of the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau.
Officials in Ningbo, about 150 kilometers east of Hangzhou, proposed cuts or
closures at 445 companies, including petrochemical plants and producers of
steel, cement and paper.