Beijing postpones US-Asia energy meeting

Beijing, Oct 18: China has delayed a planned summit of top US and Asian energy officials until December, a government official said today, as countries in the region deal with tensions caused by North Korea's recent nuclear test.

The meeting between US and Asian officials will be a rare high-level gathering in a country that is seeking to play a larger role in international energy affairs.

It was originally scheduled for October 23-26 but has now been moved to December 6, an official from China's top economic planning body, told Reuters.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which is headed by Ma Kai, also sets energy policy and will host the conference.

Asked why the date had been shifted, the official said only that participants China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States had agreed to the change after consultations.

But with the world bracing for a second possible nuclear test by China's reclusive neighbour and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice due to fly into Beijing on Friday as part of an Asian tour, top officials may have wanted to put discussions about energy issues temporarily to the side.

Beijing has tended to take a back seat at global energy discussions but is now seeking greater influence in coordinating global consumer policy to help rein in oil prices -- although oil markets have fallen over 20 per cent from a July peak.

The meeting, spearheaded by the NDRC, will also focus on the issue of strategic reserves, which China and India are building as their imports rise, an Indian source told Reuters.

China is not part of the 26-member International Energy Agency (IEA), the industrialised world's oil watchdog, which manages 1.5 billion barrels in government-held oil reserves.

Reuters