China's state planner urges coal firms to meet contractual obligations

October 25, 2021: China's state planner on Monday said it has urged coal companies to strictly perform their contractual obligations as it continues to take measures to boost supplies and steady soaring prices.

China has been pushing coal miners to ramp up output and hiking imports so that power stations can rebuild stockpiles before the winter heating season, but analysts say shortages are likely to persist for at least another few months.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it will urge upstream and downstream coal companies to sign all mid-and long-term contracts for power and coal and "give full play to the medium and long-term coal contracts to stabilize the market".

It has also asked firms to strengthen credit supervision over medium- and long-term contracts for thermal coal, according to a statement on its WeChat account.

Reuters