This article is 19 years old. Images might not display.
In a move similar to their US counterparts, Chinese officials have labelled dependence on foreign oil and gas as a national security risk and are looking at the introduction of widespread energy reforms.
China's senior economic planner, Ma Kai, will head the new Office for Energy and will report directly to the governing cabinet, with all of China's overseas oil and gas imports under his jurisdiction as well as domestic coal supplies.
The Office of Energy will form a powerful central body that will assume control of the diverse Chinese energy portfolio currently spread between numerous ministries and state-run companies, with the intent of solidifying energy regulation and policy enforcement.
"Since China dissolved the Ministry of Energy in 1993, there has been a need for an authoritative institution to make energy policy and plans for the country," said China's official Xinhua news agency.
