Winners and losers in the great Chinese rebalancing

摘要

Near the centre of Sumatra, an Indone-sian island once blanketed by forest, a gash in the ground reveals the wealth that lies just beneath its surface. Large yellow diggers prise out coal and tip it into 60-tonne lorries that huff their way to the top of the open-cast mine in Pauh subdistrict. Five years of constant traffic, propelled by China's hunger for fuel, has formed deep ruts in the dirt road. Recently, however, the lorries have stopped moving at midday. China's appetite for coal has plateaued, the coal price has sagged and Minemex, the firm that operates the mine, has given workers longer lunch breaks, without pay. "We have no choice. We must endure," sighs Demak, a sun-weathered 38-year-old.