China announced on Tuesday that it has launched pilot reforms on the pricing system of natural gas in two regions in its latest efforts to steer toward a more market-guided system.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top price regulator, said the scheme started in Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday.

Under the scheme, the prices of natural gas will be pegged to prices of optional energies that are formed through market forces. Gas prices at various stages will thus be adjusted accordingly on this basis, the NDRC said.

Currently, China mainly links the prices of natural gas with production costs, which failed to factor in consuming demands.

The latest move, which has been widely adopted in Europe, will better trace and reflect market demand and resource supplies, as well as guiding reasonable allocations, the NDRC said.

"The ultimate goal of the reform is to loosen the grip of the ex-factory prices and let the market take over," said Cao Changqing, an official with the NDRC.

The NDRC also said it has set a unified price cap in the two provinces, 2,740 yuan (432.92 U.S. dollars) per cubic meters in Guangdong and 2,570 yuan in Guangxi, instead of the previous practice of varying the ex-factory prices and pipeline transported prices on the basis of origins and routes.

Buyers and sellers could negotiate the trading under the cap, the NDRC said.

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