Economy

Tapping Geothermal Power

China will increase its development of geothermal power during the current five-year period （2016-2020） while aiming to reduce coal consumption and carbon emissions， and improve air quality， according to a government energy official at an international forum on geothermal power， held in Beijing in midNovember， 2016.

A national plan for developing the geothermal energy industry states that China will focus on promoting the use of geothermal power in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， replacing the use of coal for heating to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve air quality.

Geothermal energy is renewable and clean. At present China has one sixth of the worlds geothermal power. In 2016， the Chinese government made a national plan for developing geothermal energy during the 2016-2020 period， providing policy support to boost geothermal power generation and consumption.

China is expected to utilize geothermal power for heating and cooling， generating electricity， farming and raising livestock， and aims to increase its usage to replace the consumption of 72.1 million tonnes of coal by 2020. Now， China is one of the countries with the largest direct-use geothermal capacity in the world.

Statistics show that China consumed the equivalent of about 20 million tonnes of coal in geothermal resources in 2015.

By 2020， it is estimated that geothermal power will account for about 1.5 percent of the countrys total energy consumption， helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 177 million tonnes.

Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect Launched

China launched a stock link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in early December 2016， allowing investors of the two places to buy and sell shares on each others stock markets. The connection illustrated that interaction between capital markets in Hong Kong and Shenzhen has entered a new stage.

This is the second link of its kind to boost the opening-up of the Mainlands capital market after a similar link between the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges was launched in 2014. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has more than 1，800 listed firms， 70 percent of which are in the high-tech sector. The connection allows global investors to buy stocks on the tech-heavy Shenzhen market via the Hong Kong exchange.

According to a report by HSBC， foreign ownership of Shenzhen-listed companies is minimal， at less than 1.2 percent. In Hong Kong， it is 46 percent. The figure in Japan and South Korea is 26 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Liu Shiyu， Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission， said that governing bodies on the Mainland and in Hong Kong will enhance cooperative supervision efforts to crack down on irregularities in order to protect the interests of both domestic and global investors.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing （HKEX） Chairman Chow ChungKong said that the link marks a new milestone for the development of Hong Kong， which has a reputation as a global financial center. With the advantages of the “one country， two systems” formula for Hong Kong， the region will continue to help boost the opening-up of the Mainlands capital market， making it more competitive and attractive to international investors.

Australia and China to Open Aviation Market

It was announced that the Australian and Chinese governments have agreed to open an aviation market between the two countries， confirmed by Darren Chester， the Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Steven Ciobo， Minister for Trade， Tourism and Investment， in a December statement.

The statement detailed that new arrangements will remove all capacity restrictions on traffic rights and codeshares between Australia and China for each countrys national carrier， allowing Australian tourism businesses to take advantage of the largest and fastest growing consumer market in the world.

“The move will enable Australian and Chinese airlines to service destinations between and beyond both countries， and will allow them to take full advantage of their cooperative arrangements with their commercial alliance partners，” said Chester.

Ciobo said there is unlimited potential for Australian tourism following this historic agreement： “China is Australias fastest growing and highest spending international visitor market. More than one million Chinese tourists visited Australia in 2015-16， up 22.3 percent from the previous year， and they spent almost AUD 9 billion （about US $6.7 billion）.”

Chinas outbound market is predicated to double to over 200 million travellers annually by 2020. “This agreement will help Australia snare a larger slice of that， creating more Australian jobs and economic growth，” Ciobo said.

The agreement， which was reached just before the traditional Chinese Spring Festival， is expected to meet surging travel demand. It also marks a good beginning for 2017， which has been named the Australia-China Year of Tourism.