Huanghua Port becomes China's largest for coal transportation www.chinadaily.com

SHIJIAZHUANG - Huanghua Port in northern Hebei province has become China's largest port for coal transportation, according to a press conference Thursday.

China's WeChat is censoring group chats www.cnn.com

One of China's most popular apps is censoring users' private messages at home and abroad, according to a new report.
WeChat messages containing keywords mentioning sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet or the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong were censored in private and group chats without users' knowledge, according to a report published by Toronto-based Citizen Lab.
"Keyword censorship is no longer transparent," the report said. "In the past, users received notifications when their message was blocked; now censorship of chat messages happens without any user notice."

That censorship extends to users living abroad linked to an account originally registered with a Chinese phone number, even if the user has switched their account to an international number.
Researcher Jason Ng said that censorship is done by phone number because that enables WeChat to target all Chinese users regardless of whether they use a virtual private network (VPN) or other means of avoiding the sprawling censorship apparatus known as the Great Firewall of China.
Chinese users are censored wherever they are in the world, and regardless of who they are talking to.
"(Beijing) promotes maintaining ideological connections and guidance with Chinese citizens overseas, particularly for students studying abroad," the report said. "Tencent may be pressured to ensure filtering persists for Chinese users in any location."
Tencent (TCEHY), the tech giant that owns WeChat, said in a statement that it "respects and complies to local laws and regulations" of countries where it operates.
"WeChat...will always adhere to Tencent's core mission to create value for our users by providing high-quality, secure user experiences," the company added.
WeChat doesn't filter all messages "because they don't want international users to experience censorship," Ng said.
More keywords are blocked within group chats -- where users can broadcast their thoughts to up to 500 people at once -- than within private message groups, Citizen Lab found.

WeChat has more than 806 million monthly active users. It started as a simple messaging app, but has come to encompass gaming, mobile payments, ride hailing and e-commerce.
All Chinese social networking apps censor and restrict content by law. Citizen Lab has previously documented how WeChat deletes sensitive posts made using its "public accounts" feature, which operate like a Facebook page for businesses or celebrities.
Ng has also tracked censorship of private messages. He said in the past when a message was blocked, users received a warning note that they had used "restricted words" or that the message could not be sent "due to local laws, regulations, and policies."
In the most recent study, Citizen Lab found that the term Falun Gong was censored in a private message between a Chinese-registered account and one with a Canadian registration, but neither user was made aware that the deletion had taken place.
Ng said he "would not be surprised at all" if messages containing sensitive keywords were also being surveilled or monitored by Chinese security services.
"Censorship on WeChat (now resembles) how the Great Firewall of China operates, which is by design opaque and unaccountable," the report said.

Sharp considering closing electronics parts plant www3.nhk.or.jp

Investment for space tourism www3.nhk.or.jp

CHARTS: Death of the coking coal contract www.mining.com

World’s Longest Traffic Jam Points to Mongolia Recovery www.fronteranews.com

Over 60 kilometers, they line up: truck after truck, after truck. Nearly every one of them is laden with coal.

The world’s longest tailback has been building for months and has varying drivers: first, China’s drought prompted Beijing to slash water-intensive coal production; last, President-elect Donald Trump fanned revival for the least loved of commodities by casting doubt on the world’s commitment to outmode coal.

In the background, a newly installed government in Ulaanbaatar was quietly negotiating its way out of the economic crisis it inherited.

Last week, those negotiations came out into the open. Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, the state-owned miner of the world’s largest undeveloped coal deposit, announced it had negotiated an 85% price jump in its average selling price to $50 a ton from December, rising to $60 for 2017. Mongolia had been selling its coal at only $32 as part of a settlement for debt owed to the Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chalco. In another part of Tavan Tolgoi, Mongolia Mining Corp. had already struck a deal to sell its premium washed variety of coal at $107.

So what’s the big deal? Right now, Mongolia is pleading poverty. Mounting debt has driven the government into talks with the International Monetary Fund. It’s been whacked with two credit rating downgrades in as many weeks.

Yet, sales of coal – coupled with rising earnings from the country’s other main resources, namely copper, gold and iron ore – appear destined to rescue this nation of 3 million people, with or without foreign handouts.

Interviews with drivers and border guards indicated that around half – or 1,500 trucks – make it across the border each day. That equates to around 135,000 tons every day. That’s 4,050,000 tons per month, or 48,600,000 tons annually.

How much annual revenue will 48.6 million tons of coal exports bring to Mongolia? Based on a mid-price between the $60 and $107 so far achieved at Tavan Tolgoi, the consignment at $83 a ton equates to over $4 billion – just from coal.

In a report published by Frontera News earlier this month, Nick Cousyn, the Chief Operating Officer for BDSec, Mongolia’s largest broker and investment bank, arrives at a similar conclusion, albeit via a different route:

“It doesn’t take Herculean assumptions to expect that through improvements and reform, Mongolia’s coal companies can collectively produce 40 million tons next year,” writes Cousyn. Basing his math on the price achieved by Mongolia Mining Corp., Cousyn continues:

“At an average price of $105 per ton, that would represent more than $4 billion in economic activity for the sector – or an increase of over $3 billion compared with an estimated $960 million for 2016. For Mongolia’s $12 billion economy, this would mean a 25% jump in GDP, returning the economy to the type of dizzying growth rates seen last decade.”

As border crossings go, Mongolia’s seems an interesting space to watch.

China imposes new fees on the Mongolian border crossing www.gogo.mn

The Gants Mod crossing (China) and the GashuunSukhait crossing (Mongolia) is a major border crossing between China and Mongolia, used by some of Mongolia's biggest mines, including Erdenes Tavantolgoi, Tavantolgoi and Energy Resources.

On 22 November, the authorities in charge of Gants Mod crossing in Inner Mongolia, China have imposed new fees on commodity shipments between the two countries..

Under the newly-imposed fees, a transit fee of 10 yuan ($1.45) will be charged on vehicles each time they pass through the border, and an additional charge of 8 yuan per tonne will be imposed on any goods that they are delivering.

For precious metals and copper concentrate worth more than 10,000 yuan per tonne, exporters will be charged 0.2 percent of the total value of the cargo, the notice said, adding that the new charges would come into effect on 1 December. Although this is only one border crossing, as it is a major crossing these fees could cost the coal industry up to as much as 12.2 million USD [per annum].

Reuters said that local government officials contacted by Reuters on Thursday could not confirm the veracity of the announcement, but a senior industry representative in Ulaanbaatar who is familiar with the matter said the new charges were now in effect.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not confirm whether or not the new border fees were connected to the Dalai Lama's visit, saying that he was unaware of the situation.

Shares in baby formula milk firm hit by new Chinese import rules www.bbc.com

Shares in the baby formula milk firm Bellamy have plunged after a warning that new import regulations in China will cut into revenues.
The Australian organic formula maker has seen its shares slump more than 40%.
The company said that sales would temporarily be hit as the industry adjusted to new rules required by China's Food and Drug Administration.
China is a key market for manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand.
Long-term breastfeeding is rare among Chinese mothers.
Those who can afford it often choose to buy imported formula over Chinese brands, because of fears over dangerous levels of hormones and chemicals sometimes found in local baby formula.
That has led to a surge in demand for foreign brands in recent years.

Four major cities move to ban diesel vehicles by 2025 www.bbc.com

The leaders of four major global cities say they will stop the use of all diesel powered cars and trucks by the middle of the next decade.
The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens say they are implementing the ban to improve air quality.
They say they will give incentives for alternative vehicle use and promote walking and cycling.
The commitments were made in Mexico at a biennial meeting of city leaders.
The use of diesel in transport has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as concerns about its impact on air quality have grown. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that around three million deaths every year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution.
Diesel cars: What's all the fuss about?
London air quality alerts announced
Diesel engines contribute to the problem in two key ways - through the production of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Very fine soot PM can penetrate the lungs and can contribute to cardiovascular illness and death.
Nitrogen oxides can help form ground level ozone and this can exacerbate breathing difficulties, even for people without a history of respiratory problems.
As the evidence has mounted, environmental groups have used the courts to try and enforce clear air standards and regulations. In the UK, campaigners have recently had success in forcing the government to act more quickly.
Now, mayors from a number of major cities with well known air quality problems have decided to use their authority to clamp down on the use of diesel.

At the C40 meeting of urban leaders in Mexico, the four mayors declared that they would ban all diesel vehicles by 2025 and "commit to doing everything in their power to incentivise the use of electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles".
"It is no secret that in Mexico City, we grapple with the twin problems of air pollution and traffic," said the city's mayor, Miguel Ángel Mancera.
"By expanding alternative transportation options like our Bus Rapid Transport and subway systems, while also investing in cycling infrastructure, we are working to ease congestion in our roadways and our lungs."
Paris has already taken a series of steps to cut the impact of diesel cars and trucks. Vehicles registered before 1997 have already been banned from entering the city, with restrictions increasing each year until 2020.
Once every month, the Champs-Élysées is closed to traffic, while very recently a 3km (1.8m) section of the right bank of the Seine river that was once a two-lane motorway, has been pedestrianised.
"Our city is implementing a bold plan - we will progressively ban the most polluting vehicles from the roads, helping Paris citizens with concrete accompanying measures," said Anne Hidalgo, the city's mayor.
"Our ambition is clear and we have started to roll it out: we want to ban diesel from our city, following the model of Tokyo, which has already done the same."
Many of the measures being proposed to cut air pollution have a knock-on benefit of curbing the emissions that exacerbate global warming as well.
"The quality of the air that we breathe in our cities is directly linked to tackling climate change," said the mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena.
"As we reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated in our cities, our air will become cleaner and our children, our grandparents and our neighbours will be healthier."
Many of the plans outlined by the mayors meeting in Mexico are already having a positive impact.
In Barcelona, extra journeys by publicly available bicycles have reduced the CO2 emissions by over 9,000 tonnes - the equivalent of more than 21 million miles driven by an average vehicle.

Trump presidency may mean 30-yr bond rally about to end www.rt.com

The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Total Return Index slid four percent last month, losing $1.7 trillion, the biggest fall since its launch in 1990. Some investors are dumping low-yield bonds and turning to stocks.