Investment banks have warned that power supply problems across at least 10 Chinese provinces risk dragging on the country’s GDP as factories with crucial links to the global supply chain were forced to lower production, reports the Financial Times. Power shortages in China’s manufacturing and industrial hubs have intensified this month as provinces struggled to meet the central government’s strict carbon emissions targets at the same time as coal prices have risen.
Bruce Pang, from China Renaissance, an investment bank, said the electricity squeeze could result in a cut to GDP growth of 0.1 to 0.15 of a percentage point in the third and fourth quarters.
Several key Apple and Tesla suppliers have halted production at some of their Chinese facilities, reports Caixin. Eson Precision Engineering, an affiliate of Foxconn — the world’s biggest iPhone assembler — and a key mechanical parts supplier for Apple and Tesla, on Sunday said it suspended its production from Sunday until Friday at its facilities in the Chinese city of Kunshan in direct response to the city’s policy of stopping electricity supply for industrial use.