Germans demand China signs oil pact

An international initiative to promote transparency in the oil industry’s often-murky finances will fail unless China participates, a German official said on Thursday.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, supported by more than 30 governments and 25 oil, gas and mining companies, will achieve a “level playing field” against corruption only if Beijing joins, said Bernd Pfaffenbach, envoy to the Group of Eight industrial states for Angela Merkel, German chancellor.

MSN