MINING THE AIR: A trial wind power plant is inaugurated on December 28 beside Qinghai Lake in northwest China’s Qinghai Province. The power plant, the highest one above sea level in the country, has an annual capacity of 3.2 million kw hours

Going German

Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., a major heavy machinery maker in China, plans to build a production plant and a research and development center in Germany, according to a recent statement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The NDRC said the Hunan Province-based company received government approval to invest in the European country-the latest move in its overseas expansion endeavors.

Sany had earlier unveiled plans to build a $100-million plant near Atlanta, Georgia, to assemble concrete mixers. The company has already set up operations in India and other countries.

Sany has not provided any details about the plans for its plant in Germany.

Boosting the Metals Industry

China's State Reserve Bureau (SRB) under the NDRC will buy 300,000 tons of aluminum at 12,300 yuan ($1,750) per ton in January, representing a 10-percent premium above current market prices, according to a report by the Shanghai Securities News.

With the move, the SRB, which maintains stockpiles of key raw materials, aims to push prices back up for aluminum producers, the newspaper said.

Half of the total tons purchased by the SRB will come from the Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., a metals giant listed in Shanghai, the rest will be provided by seven other smelters.

It is the government's first move in the current market crisis to boost the country's ailing nonferrous metals industry. Sagging prices and diminished demand have forced some smelters to cut production and eliminate jobs.

Exploring the Straits

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the mainland's largest offshore explorer, signed four cooperation agreements with Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp. on December 26.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the agreements included a letter of intent for closer cooperation and a revised contract on joint exploration in the Tainan Basin of the Taiwan Straits and the Chaozhou Shantou Basin off the mainland's Guangdong coast.

The agreement also covered joint study efforts on the Wuqiuyu Basin off the mainland's Fujian coast and the transfer of a 30-percent stake of CNOOC's onshore Exploration Block 9 in Kenya to the Taiwanese company.

Nuclear Power Expansion

The government started an expansion project at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in coastal Zhejiang Province on December 26.

The nuclear plant, built in 1985, is the first facility of its kind on the mainland constructed by domestic engineers. It was built with a 300,000-kw prototype reactor that has a 30-year lifespan.

During the expansion project, two new generating units will be installed, each with an installed capacity of 1 million kw. They will become operational by 2013 and 2014.

Venturing Into North Korea

Henan Yima Coal Mining Group said it plans to invest in a 10-million-ton coalmine and a 1.2-million-ton coal chemical project in North Korea.

The two projects would be developed in cooperation with the Anju Coal Mining Association, North Korea's largest coal miner with nearly 10 coal mines, Yima said in an announcement.

Yima will hold controlling stakes in both projects. The company has not yet released any financial details about the projects.

"The global financial crisis provides a good opportunity for domestic coalminers to tap into overseas markets at a lower cost," said Li Chaolin, an official with the China Coal Transportation and Sales Society, in an interview with China Daily.