Last week the Chinese government announced a plan to close numerous factories in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, particularly cement, coke and small-sized steel producers.
The steps are aimed at curbing the high levels of air pollution in Beijing, which may affect the performance of athletes during the Games.
Officials are also planning other grand measures, such as diverting water from outlying provinces to Beijing to ensure water supplies, as part of their efforts to present China in the best possible light.
RBI purchases steel and other raw materials from ISO certified suppliers and will not be affected by this action.
Mike Kenney, VP RBI-USA commented, "This emphasizes the importance of doing business in China with companies that you can trust. What if GM had purchased bearings from a plant in one of these provinces and the China government just decided to close the plant - than what????"
Six provinces and municipalities -- Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shanxi, Tianjin and Beijing -- have already started shutting down polluting factories and curbing power-plant production in an ambitious attempt to cut down on air pollution. Collectively, these provinces represent an area larger than France, Germany and Italy combined, but pollutants from factories far from Beijing are believed to be partially responsible for the capital's often smoggy air.
Du Shaozhong, deputy head of the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau, said Beijing is cooperating closely with these provinces "to ensure good air quality for the Olympic Games," which begin Aug. 8.
In Beijing, there also are plans to curb the use of autos and halt construction before the Games to clear the air. Mr. Du declined to give details of Beijing's plans to curb traffic, saying they would be announced later. City officials have been considering a plan to cut by half the number of cars on its roads during the Games. "We will do something to control heavy enterprises and take some cars off the roads," Mr. Du said.
Part of the city's massive construction works could also stop as early as May, according to people in the industry.
In August, levels of smog in Beijing were so visibly bad that International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said during a live CNN interview that some events might have to be rescheduled, a source of embarrassment to Chinese officials.
The full extent of the pre-Olympic closures remains uncertain because authorities are weighing a multitude of contingency plans against Beijing's shifting pollution and smog levels. If the situation worsens, authorities may even consider a more sweeping shutdown of scores of power plants across northeast China, according to industry executives.
Beijing has long needed to crack down on badly polluting factories, which local governments have often resisted because they bring jobs and economic growth. While the Chinese government has been pushing nationwide environmental measures, the coming Olympics appear to have accelerated the closure or suspension of many plants in the less-industrialized north.
Analysts say Chinese officials are reluctant to release details about the closures for fear of damping economic investment in northern China, particularly in places such as Tianjin, a fast-rising industrial area where Airbus is building an assembly plant and some Motorola cell phones are made.
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