A Chinese official in charge of energy said Tuesday that China has eased its pressure on the energy supply, and the country's surging demand for energy poses no threat to the world energy market.

"China's astonishing energy demand has been greatly reduced this year," said Wu Guihui, deputy director of the energy bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at the 2005 China Gas Summit held in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday.

Wu said that during the first nine months of 2005, China produced 1.43 billion tons of coal, up 8.25 percent year on year.

During the same period, China's electricity generation volume grew 13.4 percent to 1.78 trillion kilowatts, while the production of crude oil reached 136 million tons, up 4.2 percent and hitting a record high, Wu said.

According to the official, China imported 93.96 million tons of crude oil in the first nine months, increasing four percent from a year earlier with the growth rate dropping by 30.4 percentage points.

The import volume of oil products during the same period reached 23.24 million tons, declining 16.4 percent year on year, with the growth rate dropping by 45 percentage points, he said.

China's surging demand for energy has had little impact on the world energy market and poses no threat in this respect, he said.

Wu emphasized that China will satisfy its energy demand mainly with its domestic resources.

China is not only a large consumer of energy, but also a big producer. About 90 percent of its energy demand has been met with its domestic resources, Wu said.

Furthermore, China has great potential in energy supply. China abounds in coal reserves and two thirds of the country's hydroelectricity resources are yet to be explored, the official said, adding that the country is still launching large-scale development in the nuclear, wind and bio-power sectors.

The Chinese government has taken a series of measures to reduce its energy demand, including restricting high-energy consumption industries, increasing energy efficiency and accelerating the country's transformation of the economic growth mode.

China's energy consumption in producing every 10,000 yuan (US$1234.57) of GDP in 2004 decreased 45 percent as compared with that in 1990.

China plans to save energy resources at an annual rate 3 percent by2020, equivalent to 1.4 billion tons of standard coal, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)