China should continue to
import coal in "appropriate" volumes, and domestic coal companies are
encouraged to invest in overseas coal mines, the head of National Energy
Administration's coal department said in an article published in
state-controlled People's Daily Friday.
Coal imports can help China
offset its trade imbalance, while investment in overseas coal mines can improve
local coal firms' management skills and ensure national energy security, Fang
Junshi said in the report.
China
should also limit the pace of its coal output growth, Fang said. He didn't
indicate an acceptable pace or appropriate import volume level.
The world's largest coal producer has stepped up coal imports since last year
to fuel its rapidly-expanding economy, shipping in 125.8 million metric tons
last year, more than triple 2008's level.
Coal shipments from overseas totaled 133.93 million tons from January-October
this year, up 38% from the same period last year.
NEA Director Zhang Guobao said in a speech Oct. 27 that he doesn't favor the
country's coal output expanding above 4 billion tons a year.
Policymakers are mulling an annual cap of between 3.6 billion tons and 3.8 billion
tons in the next five-year plan, running from 2011 to 2015, to prevent
oversupply and curb consumption of the polluting fuel, the official Xinhua News
Agency reported previously.
The nation has pledged to cut carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic
product by 40%-45% by 2020 from 2005 levels.
China's trade surplus grew
to $27.15 billion in October from $16.9 billion in September, which added to
the already high pressure from the U.S.
and other countries seeking a stronger Chinese currency to narrow their trade
gaps with China.