Ladies and Gentlemen,

The State Council Information Office of China holds the press conference in honor of the forthcoming 60th anniversary of China. I'd like to draw your attention to the energy industry of China and brief you on energy achievements made in the country.

In the past 60 years, like in other aspects of the country, China's achievements in energy industry have attracted worldwide attention, particularized as follows:

First, the energy supply capacity has been expanded. The primary energy output increased from 23.34 million tons of coal equivalent in 1949 to 2.6 billion tons in 2008, representing a 110-fold growth and making China the largest energy producer worldwide. In 1949, Chinese people consumed less than one 1 kW.h per capita, compared with 307 kW.h per capita today. Such oil fields as Daqing, Shengli, Changqing and Tarim were discovered, the Daqing spirit of "Honesty and Stringency" was created and carried forward, and the history of oil shortage and reliance or exported oil has been gone. Offshore oil and gas development started from scratch. West-to-east gas and electricity transmission projects are ongoing. A sound energy distribution system has been created. The energy self-supply rate always stays above 90%, providing an assurance of the national energy security.

Second, the energy structure has been optimized gradually. Coal as a percentage of energy consumption dropped from 95% in 1952 to 68.7% in 2008, down 26.3 percentage points; petroleum increased by 14.6 percentage points, while clean energy including hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and natural gas rose by 11.7% percentage points. China's hydropower installed capacity reaches 172 million kW, the largest in the world. Wind energy doubled in each of the past three years to reach a 12.17 million kW installed capacity, ranked fourth worldwide. Solar water heaters have a gross collector area of over 125 million m2 and an annual output of 40 million m2, ranked first in the world. 11 nuclear power reactors have been installed and operated, providing a total installed capacity of 9.1 million kW. 24 nuclear units totaling 25.4 million kW are under construction, the largest ongoing nuclear program in the present currently.

Third, marked progresses have been made in conservation of energy recourses. Energy conservation is a fundamental policy of China. In the 30 years' reform and opening, the energy consumption per unit of GDP declined by 4% annually. A reasonable energy utilization system is taking shape, and the sustainability of energy development has been improved significantly.

Fourth, energy technologies and equipments have been improved greatly. In 1949, the largest thermal power unit of China was 10 MW and the highest transmission voltage was 220 kV, all designed and made by foreign countries. The first China-made 6 MW thermal power unit was completed in 1956 in Tianjia'an, Anhui Province. At present, 600 MW and 1000MW critical, super-critical units are becoming the mainstream in thermal power plants, with 300 MW and higher units accounting for 65.2%. The transmission and transformation voltage rating has been raised to 500 kV after beginning of the reform and opening up in 1978, and alterative current shifted to direct current. China has become the largest user of 500 kV DC in power transmission. The 1,000 UHV AC pilot project from southeast Shanxi to Jinmen, Hubei Province has been completed and put into service; the ±800 kW DC transmission line is under construction, the highest DC voltage rating worldwide so far. Backed by its globally leading technology in power generation, transmission and transformation equipments, China has exported 14.52 million kW generating equipments in 2008. The fully mechanized mining rate exceeds 80% in large state-owned mines. China also has patented onshore oil rigs, offshore oil platforms and 10 million-ton-a-year refinery plants. With rising international competitiveness, a technology and equipment system has been created that are aligned to China's energy development.

Fifth, the energy mechanism and system reform proceeds solidly. Today, market mechanism has played a fundamental role in allocation of energy resources. The modern enterprise system has been established in coal, electricity and oil industries.

The new energy fields witness rapid growth of private economy. Energy administration bodies of the government have been streamlined from separate coal, electricity and oil ministries to the present National Energy Administration. The macro energy management system has been basically established; energy laws and regulations are improved continuously; policies, plans and standards play an important role in energy administration.

Sixth, international energy corporation has delivered great results. China has become an integral part of global energy markets and has a bigger say in world energy affairs. China is the vice chairman nation of World Energy Council (WEC); It maintains a bilateral cooperation mechanism with 36 countries and regions and a multilateral cooperation mechanism with 22 international organizations; it cooperates with over 40 countries and regions in exploration, development, refining chemicals and piping; China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline project has been completed and China-Russia cruel oil pipeline is under construction; The Trans-Asia natural gas pipeline and the Western section of the second west-to-east gas transmission line will be put into service by the end of 2009, which will supply natural gas from Central Asia to Beijing. China's proactive involvement in international energy cooperation has contributes much to the world energy security.

Energy development and achievements of China in the past 60 years are attributable to strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, to millions of people devoted to energy industry in generations, such as Wang Jinxi, and to the reform and opening policy devised by the CPC Central Committee.

Besides, we also gain valuable experience in these years. Based on accurate understanding of world energy situation, China's specifics and social advancement characteristics, the energy development strategy of China has been defined as "conservation first, primarily based on domestic resources, diversified development; protect environment, intensify international cooperation for mutual benefits, build a stable, economical, clean and secure energy supply system, stick to the scientific view of development, and base China's sustainable eco-social development on sustainable energy development." The strategy serves as the guiding principle for the energy activity in China at present and in the future.

It has been more than one year since establishment of the National Energy Administration upon approval by the National People's Congress. In that period, the Administration full stuck to the scientific view of development, transformed functions, improved working style, developed strategies, plans, policies and standards, advanced law-based energy development, accelerated construction of large energy bases, fostered development of new energy and renewable energy, promoted improvements in energy technologies and equipments, carried out international energy cooperation for mutual benefits, provided an assurance for national energy security, and delivered contributions to stable and rapid economic growth and people's heightened standard of life.

Here, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you for your support and concern, and hope to receive more supports from you in the future.