Preview II

China, battling its worst snowstorms ever, aims to restore power lines and boost coal shipments before this week's Lunar New Year, the country's most important annual holiday.

The country needs to ``ensure'' the restoration of most electricity networks before the holiday begins on Feb. 6, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its Web site today. The worst affected areas are Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces, which have only half their normal power capacity, it said.

More than two weeks of snow in central and southern China has brought transport networks to a standstill, killed at least 60 people and caused economic losses of at least 53.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion). The snow is forecast to continue until Feb. 5 after a temporary halt today, Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Central Meteorological Station.

``We have the faith, courage and ability to overcome the severe natural disaster,'' Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was onboard a train to disaster-hit central Hunan province, was cited as saying by Xinhua.

PetroChina Co. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., China's two largest oil refiners, were asked to ``prioritize'' oil supplies for power line repairs, the commission, the country's top economic planner, said in today's statement.

Coal Transport

As much as 90 percent of key state-owned coal mines have been also asked to continue production during the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, Xinhua said, citing the State Administration of Work Safety today. China relies on coal for 78 percent of its electricity.

Shenhua Group Corp., China's biggest coal producer, may produce 20.2 million tons in February, higher than January's 18 million tons, Xinhua said, citing an unidentified executive.

By Feb. 2, domestic coal producers had a total inventory of 17.7 million tons, 440,000 tons more than the previous day, and eight days' usage on average, Li Pumin, a spokesman for the NDRC, said at a press conference today.

All of the country's railway container trucks have been mobilized to ensure the transportation of coal, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Railway. Coal shipments were increased to a record 42,200 trucks a day from Feb. 1, it said.

The increasing shipments has further strained the nation's railway system, which is already struggling to handle thousands of stranded passengers seeking to return home for the New Year holiday.

Station Stampede

A woman was killed in a stampede at Guangzhou railway station today, as hundreds of thousands of passengers sought to board a train, Hong Kong's RTHK said. It was the first stampede death reported since the start of the weather crisis last month.

Officials have warned people to stay away from railway stations because services are recovering very slowly and trains have been commandeered for shipments of emergency supplies, the Hong Kong broadcaster added.

Road traffic was also delayed. A section of the expressway linking Beijing and the southern city of Zhuhai was jammed with more than 10,000 vehicles last night, Xinhua said. Vehicles were backed up for 70 kilometers near the southern city of Chenzhou, it added, citing local road authorities. Tanks were being used to clear some icy highways, the news agency said.

Flights, Fog

All of the nation's airports were open today, Xinhua said, citing the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China. Still, no landings or take-offs occurred before 10:00 a.m. at the airport in Changsha, Hunan province, because heavy fog had reduced visibility to 50 meters, the news agency said.

The price of vegetables in 36 cities rose more than 30 percent between Jan. 25 and Jan. 30 because of the transport problems, and only started to stabilize in the past few days, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a separate statement today. Meat prices also gained while grains and vegetable oils were little changed, it added.

Damaged crop acreage increased to 141 million mu (23 million acres) as of the morning of Feb. 1, more than the 103 million mu estimated on Jan. 30, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on its Web site today.