Beijing: With energy security an increasing preoccupation among leaders in Beijing proposed legislation in China is aiming to set up a strategic coal reserve.
The law is still being drafted and would determine the size of the reserve as well as where the sites would be.
The country has so far mapped out plans only for oil reserves. There are four strategic oil reserve bases and two in East China's Zhejiang Province already hold a capacity of 5 million tons each. The other two reserve bases will be in Huangdao and Dalian, by the end of 2008.
The country's annual coal output reached 2.3 billion tons last year. Exports were 63 million tons and imports, 38 million tons. Coal currently accounts for 70 percent of the country's energy consumption. [05/07/07]
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