Opinions of the State Council on Resolving the Overcapacity Problem of the Coal Industry to Realize Development by Extricating the Coal Industry from Difficulties
Opinions of the State Council on Resolving the Overcapacity Problem of the Coal Industry to Realize Development by Extricating the Coal Industry from Difficulties
Opinions of the State Council on Resolving the Overcapacity Problem of the Coal Industry to Realize Development by Extricating the Coal Industry from Difficulties
Guo Fa [2016] No.7
February 1, 2016
People's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and all ministries and commissions of, and all institutions directly under, the State Council,
Coal is China's main energy. As a fundamental industry of national economy, the coal industry, given its wide coverage and large quantity of practitioners, is crucial to economic development and the overall situation of social stability. In recent years, due to the influence of slowing economy, energy restructuring and other factors, the coal industry has encountered a sharp decrease in demand for coal, continuous overcapacity of coal supply, and serious imbalance between supply and demand, leading to the general decline of enterprise benefits, the chaotic market competition and increasing hidden work safety risks, all of which have brought adverse impact on economic development, employment and social stability. The following opinions are hereby proposed in order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the "CPC") and the State Council on promoting structural reform and focusing on the de-capacity task, further resolve the overcapacity of the coal industry and promote the development of coal enterprises by extricating them from difficulties:
I. General Requirements
(I) Guiding ideology. We shall, by comprehensively implementing the guiding principles of the 18th CPC National Congress, the third, fourth and fifth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Economic Working Conference, and according to the general layout of "Five-in-one" (namely, economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction) and the strategic blueprint of the "Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy", firmly foster and carry out the innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development concepts, focus on promoting supply-side structural reform of the coal industry, insist on market reverse and enterprise autonomy, local organization and Central Government's support, comprehensively implementing policies and seeking both temporary and permanent solutions, and taking measures suitable for local conditions and making disposal by classification, and combine the active and appropriate resolution of overcapacity with restructuring, transformation and upgrading to realize the upgrading and healthy development of the coal industry by extricating the industry from losses and difficulties.
(II) Basic principles.
Combine market reverse with government support. We shall give full play to the role of market mechanisms and better play to the guidance role of government to resolve overcapacity by law-based and marketization means. Enterprises shall undertake the primary responsibilities to resolve overcapacity; local governments shall be responsible for formulating implementing plans and organizing the implementation thereof; and the Central Government shall provide fund rewards and policy supports.
Combine overcapacity resolution with transformation and upgrading. We shall strictly control new capacity, eliminate the backward one effectively, make excessive capacity exit in an orderly manner and seek an appropriate link between the reserved and the exiting capacity. Enterprises shall be driven to optimize organizational, technical and product structures, innovate systems and mechanisms, and enhance the comprehensive competitiveness by solving overcapacity, so as to promote the transformation and upgrading of the coal industry.
Combine overall promotion with key breakthroughs. Breakthroughs shall be made in key coal-production provinces and regions with a better work basis at first to explore beneficial experience for overall promotion. We shall, with staff resettlement as the focus, excavate the internal potential of enterprises, properly carry out job rotation and the reposition of redundant personnel, implement all the employment and social security policies, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of employees and properly handle enterprises' assets and debts.
(III) Work objectives. On the basis of the elimination of backward coal capacity in recent years, the coal industry will make further about 500 million tons of capacity exit, and have about 500 million tons of capacity reduced and restructured, with a substantial compression of coal capacity and moderate reduction of the quantity of coal mines within three to five years from 2016 for an effective solution to the overcapacity of the coal industry, the basically balanced market supply and demand, an optimized industrial structure and the substantial progress of transformation and upgrading.
II. Main Tasks
(IV) Strictly control new capacity. From 2016, examination and approval shall be ceased within three years for new coal mine projects, technical transformation projects of new capacity and projects of capacity increased upon review in principle; decrement substitution shall be employed for necessary new coal mines. The coal mine projects under construction shall be linked with backward capacity elimination and overcapacity resolution at a certain proportion, and the relevant departments of people's governments at the provincial level shall release announcements on the coal mine projects under construction that have completed the tasks of backward capacity elimination and overcapacity resolution.
(V) Speed up the elimination of backward capacity and other capacity not in compliance with industrial policies.
......
Guo Fa [2016] No.7
February 1, 2016
People's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and all ministries and commissions of, and all institutions directly under, the State Council,
Coal is China's main energy. As a fundamental industry of national economy, the coal industry, given its wide coverage and large quantity of practitioners, is crucial to economic development and the overall situation of social stability. In recent years, due to the influence of slowing economy, energy restructuring and other factors, the coal industry has encountered a sharp decrease in demand for coal, continuous overcapacity of coal supply, and serious imbalance between supply and demand, leading to the general decline of enterprise benefits, the chaotic market competition and increasing hidden work safety risks, all of which have brought adverse impact on economic development, employment and social stability. The following opinions are hereby proposed in order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the "CPC") and the State Council on promoting structural reform and focusing on the de-capacity task, further resolve the overcapacity of the coal industry and promote the development of coal enterprises by extricating them from difficulties:
I. General Requirements
(I) Guiding ideology. We shall, by comprehensively implementing the guiding principles of the 18th CPC National Congress, the third, fourth and fifth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Economic Working Conference, and according to the general layout of "Five-in-one" (namely, economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction) and the strategic blueprint of the "Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy", firmly foster and carry out the innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development concepts, focus on promoting supply-side structural reform of the coal industry, insist on market reverse and enterprise autonomy, local organization and Central Government's support, comprehensively implementing policies and seeking both temporary and permanent solutions, and taking measures suitable for local conditions and making disposal by classification, and combine the active and appropriate resolution of overcapacity with restructuring, transformation and upgrading to realize the upgrading and healthy development of the coal industry by extricating the industry from losses and difficulties.
(II) Basic principles.
Combine market reverse with government support. We shall give full play to the role of market mechanisms and better play to the guidance role of government to resolve overcapacity by law-based and marketization means. Enterprises shall undertake the primary responsibilities to resolve overcapacity; local governments shall be responsible for formulating implementing plans and organizing the implementation thereof; and the Central Government shall provide fund rewards and policy supports.
Combine overcapacity resolution with transformation and upgrading. We shall strictly control new capacity, eliminate the backward one effectively, make excessive capacity exit in an orderly manner and seek an appropriate link between the reserved and the exiting capacity. Enterprises shall be driven to optimize organizational, technical and product structures, innovate systems and mechanisms, and enhance the comprehensive competitiveness by solving overcapacity, so as to promote the transformation and upgrading of the coal industry.
Combine overall promotion with key breakthroughs. Breakthroughs shall be made in key coal-production provinces and regions with a better work basis at first to explore beneficial experience for overall promotion. We shall, with staff resettlement as the focus, excavate the internal potential of enterprises, properly carry out job rotation and the reposition of redundant personnel, implement all the employment and social security policies, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of employees and properly handle enterprises' assets and debts.
(III) Work objectives. On the basis of the elimination of backward coal capacity in recent years, the coal industry will make further about 500 million tons of capacity exit, and have about 500 million tons of capacity reduced and restructured, with a substantial compression of coal capacity and moderate reduction of the quantity of coal mines within three to five years from 2016 for an effective solution to the overcapacity of the coal industry, the basically balanced market supply and demand, an optimized industrial structure and the substantial progress of transformation and upgrading.
II. Main Tasks
(IV) Strictly control new capacity. From 2016, examination and approval shall be ceased within three years for new coal mine projects, technical transformation projects of new capacity and projects of capacity increased upon review in principle; decrement substitution shall be employed for necessary new coal mines. The coal mine projects under construction shall be linked with backward capacity elimination and overcapacity resolution at a certain proportion, and the relevant departments of people's governments at the provincial level shall release announcements on the coal mine projects under construction that have completed the tasks of backward capacity elimination and overcapacity resolution.
(V) Speed up the elimination of backward capacity and other capacity not in compliance with industrial policies.
......