China plans to finish the revision of coal mine safety standards within three years, said Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).

"The current safe production standards were worked out a long time ago and the standard is too old," said Li on Tuesday at the ceremony marking the establishment of the National Safe Production Standardization Technical Commission in Beijing.

China aims to set up a safer production standard system by the year 2010, Li was quoted as saying by the Beijing News on Wednesday.

The founding of the commission indicates that China's efforts to ensure safer mining is on the correct track, the report said.

The commission, to be led by the State Commission for Administration of Standardization, will be responsible for drafting and stipulating standards related to safe production in various sectors and making timely revisions.

As the world's biggest coal producer and consumer, China has been plagued by the problem of frequent coal mine accidents in recent years.

Last year, 5,938 people were killed in 3,341 coal-mine accidents in China.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)