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Beijing wants cooperation on energy

China wants to work with other countries to help ensure the security of international energy supplies, Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) said yesterday at the start of a one-day, five-nation energy conference.

"China is willing to cooperate with other countries in developing and exploiting energy resources ... and contribute to maintaining the stability and security of international energy supplies," state media quoted Wen as saying.

Wen told representatives from India, Japan, South Korea and the US that Beijing had made both the efficient use of energy supplies and environmental protection top government priorities.

"We have a joint interest in ensuring that oil importing countries can secure stable supplies of energy resources," China's Minister for the National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai (馬凱) said yesterday. "This meeting will help boost mutual understanding and benefit all participating countries."

US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said that yesterday's meeting would offer the five nations an opportunity to see "what each of us is doing in renewable energy, in nuclear power, in clean coal technology, what each of us is doing in other forms of research as well as efforts on energy efficiency."

"It's the first time we have had these five parties meeting in a multilateral fashion," he said on Friday, on the sidelines of high-level trade talks between China and the US.

"I view it as an experiment that is worthwhile," Bodman added.

Also in attendance were Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amani and South Korean Energy Minister Chung Sye-kyun.

China is seeking greater influence over key energy markets while striving to alleviate worries over its huge and growing appetite for oil. Some analysts have said the meeting is also designed to reassure China's Asian neighbors that its energy policy is sound.

China recently announced it wants a negotiating mechanism with OPEC to ensure a stable, secure supply of oil for its booming economy. Already the world's second-largest oil consumer and third-largest oil importer, China's demand is forecast to more than double by 2025.

"The international energy situation is undergoing drastic changes and China's demand for energy is huge due to its fast economic growth," said Liu Jiangyong (劉江永), a professor at the Institute of International Studies at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University.

"China needs closer cooperation on the reasonable consumption of world energy resources," Liu said.

China imported 120 million tonnes of crude oil in the first 10 months of the year, up 14 percent on the same period last year, as its booming economy boosted demand.

Washington has expressed concern in recent years about China's so-called oil diplomacy in Latin America and Africa, where Beijing buys massive quantities of oil, gas and other natural resources to satisfy ever-expanding demand.

Bodman said he planned to encourage Beijing to use its strategic petroleum reserves as a buffer against physical supply disruptions, rather than as a way to manipulate world prices. He also said he would like to see China rely more on the global energy market and less on acquisitions to fortify its energy security.

"We're going to be working on a whole spectrum of issues related to energy security," Bodman told reporters on Friday.

"We're worried more about access. The Chinese are worried more about ownership," he said.

China started filling newly built strategic storage tanks in August, and its efforts have prompted worries over secrecy and the absence of clear policies on managing the oil assets in storage.
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