"threatening laggards with higher power costs" [higher power costs]
The punitive pricing mechanism named here is the specific coercive tool the signal claims is being used to enforce compliance, distinguishing this from voluntary or subsidy-based decarbonization approaches.
Reasoning from this article
The article illustrates a broader pattern in which state planners use price signals — rather than direct mandates alone — to discipline heavy industry toward policy targets. This coercive-pricing mechanism is replicable across other state-directed economies and sectors, making it a structural dynamic beyond China's specific 2026-2028 plan. The involvement of five state agencies including the NDRC signals whole-of-government coordination, reinforcing that this is a durable institutional approach rather than a one-off intervention.