Vice president: China sticks to sustainable energy strategy

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - China will stick to the a sustainable energy strategy and make active contributions to the sustainable energy development and energy security in the world, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

China will put emphasis on both energy exploitation and conservation with priority given to economizing on energy consumption, Xi said at the ongoing International Energy Conference held in the western Saudi port city of Jeddah.

China has drafted a plan to reduce the energy consumption in per unit gross domestic product by about 20 percent by 2010 from the 2005 level, Xi said.

"We'll take all possible measures to achieve the goal," he told the one-day meeting.

China will try to meet the demands for economic growth and the improvement of people's life by increasing domestic energy supply, Xi said.

China still has great potential for domestic energy supply, as the country has abundant reserves in coal, the major source for its energy. Its rich hydroelectric resources, plus other new energies such as nuclear energy, wind energy, are yet to be fully exploited, he added.

China will pursue diversified development of energy supplies, Xi said.

Various energy forms such as coal, oil and gas, hydroelectricity, wind electricity and solar energy will supplement each other to secure a stable energy supply, he said.

Technological progress and innovation in the energy field will be encouraged in China, said the vice president.

China will enhance its ability of innovation, break through the bottlenecks of energy technology and seek new ways to exploit energy resources, he said.

China will strive to build a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society by ensuring the coordinated development of energy production and environmental protection, he said.

China will also adhere to the principle of mutual benefit in the energy field and strengthen cooperation with energy producing and consuming nations, he added.