CHINA: July 6, 2007


BEIJING - China has failed to contain the risk of an over-heating economy, the country's top economic planner said in remarks published on Thursday.


"The trend towards economic over-heating has yet to be curbed," Ma Kai, the chairman of National Development and Reform Commission, was quoted as saying by the Beijing News.

Ma made the comment in a speech on Wednesday to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC), the country's top advisory body, the semi-official newspaper said.

According to the CPPCC's Web site, Ma made a speech on saving energy and protecting the environment. It gave few details.

The Beijing newspaper quoted Ma as saying that China's energy-intensive, polluting industries are growing faster despite repeated government efforts and orders to apply the brakes.

Ma said China's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are rising quickly. China is the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, after the United States, but Beijing has cited its low emissions per head as a reason for refusing to sign up for compulsory emission cut targets.

In order to hit its target of reducing China's energy use per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010, the government plans to further reform the system for pricing oil, natural gas and power, Ma was quoted as saying.

He said a long-expected fuel tax might be introduced before the end of the year.

The goal of a 20 percent reduction in "energy intensity" over five years implies a 4 percent improvement a year.

China achieved a 1.2 percent cut in 2006 and Xie Zhenhua, a vice chairman of the economic planning agency, said the target was likely to be missed again this year on current trends.

If so, China would find it hard to meet the 20 percent target by 2010, the Beijing News quoted Xie as saying.


REUTERS NEWS SERVICE