Mine safety inspection ineffective to tackle coal oversupply in China

China's State Administration of Work Safety recently disqualified 113 coal mines from the first-tier safety grade for 2014's Coal Mines Safety Quality Standardization Evaluation, due to exceeding approved output capacity levels and safety issues. The disqualified mines will either face a safety downgrade or an operation suspension, depending on their risk, adding further pressures on illegal mining and coal production above approved capacity levels. The safety standard evaluation appears to be more focused on state-owned-enterprises. We assess the impact of the safety standard evaluation and the possible supply response it will trigger.