China will improve macroeconomic regulation and control to ease energy and transport shortage in coming summer, the central government decided at an executive meeting.

The executive meeting of the State Council was presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on June 4.

It was reported at the meeting that China's supply of coal, oil, electricity and transport service has grown rapidly since the beginning of this year, but the shortage is still serious as power consumption will peak in summer.

The State Council decided that the fundamental way to ease the shortage is to improve macroeconomic regulation and control, curb blind investments and wasteful duplications in some industries and cut irrational demand.

The State Council decided to take the following measures:

-- Control the demand for electricity, ensuring power supply for people's daily life, agricultural production, and key industries, and restricting power consumption by power-extensive and polluting industries;

-- Regulating power supply and demand by setting different rates;

-- Improving power distribution to make full use of existing power supply facilities;

-- Improving coal supply for areas suffering from power shortage;

-- Accelerating construction of energy and transport projects to expand supply;

-- Improving efficiency of energy consumption;

-- Stepping up planning for construction of energy and transport facilities; and

-- Ensuring safety and security of energy production, supply and transport.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2004)