Not easy weaning China off oil

Can paying more for gas make people use less of it?

That`s certainly what the Chinese government is hoping for as it considers opening up its oil market. Earlier this week, local media reports said that the world`s second-largest oil-consuming nation is considering easing price control on its energy markets in an attempt to get consumers to use less oil and electricity.

‘We will allow the scarcity of resources to determine their price … that`s the basic principle of the price reforms,’ said Bi Jingquan, vice minister of price reform at the National Development and Reform Commission, in a speech to policymakers last week, according to the People`s Daily. He said that ‘the proposed price reform is in an effort to cut widespread waste of natural resources due to low prices,’ though he noted there was still no indication about how much the prices might change.
Monsters and Critics