China has called on its top producing province to guarantee thermal coal supplies to some of the industrial hubs on the coast threatened by power shortages. Miners in Shanxi have been asked to prioritize supply of as much as 47.7 million tons to seven provinces between May and December, according to the Chinese news portal Coal Vision , which cited a government plan. The miners will be allowed to sell the coal above existing price caps. The southern economic powerhouse of Guangdong is in line for almost 40% of the amount. Other regions to be prioritized include the industrial heartlands of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian. The move is designed to avoid any repeat of the power crunch that struck in the fall, as markets on the coast stress over dwindling imports and a resurgent virus that’s clogging up transport of the nation’s mainstay fuel from the interior. Liaoning, Hainan […]