Seoul - China will host a meeting of top US and Asian energy officials next
month, South Korea's energy ministry said on Tuesday, as Beijing steps up
efforts to co-ordinate consumer nation policy and rein in oil prices.
"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss ways to stabilize the energy price
among high energy consuming countries," said Toh Kyung-hwan, policy director at
the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy in Seoul.
Government officials from China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United
States will attend the October 23-26 meeting in Beijing, one of the biggest
energy summits arranged by China.
Participants are likely to be minister-level officials, although the list is
yet to be confirmed, Toh added.
An official at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI) could not say who would attend from the Japanese
side, saying arrangements were still being made.
China is not part of the 26-member International Energy Agency (IEA), the
industrialized world's oil watchdog, which manages 1.5 billion barrels in
government-held oil reserves.
But
as an emerging power in Asia, China is setting up its own strategic crude oil facilities.
Bigger Influence
As China's double-digit economic growth forces it to import more resources
from abroad, Beijing has been keen to see its state-owned companies taking a
more active global role to help it influence markets such as benchmark Oman
crude and iron ore.
The government has also taken measures at home to curb oil demand and promote
conservation, although critics say its unwillingness to raise energy prices in
line with global markets hinders this drive toward greater efficiency.
The United States is the world's biggest oil user, consuming about 20 million
barrels per day (bpd), slightly more than Asia's four biggest economies
combined.
The participants are likely to release a statement at the end of the meeting
vowing to co-operate toward stabilizing the energy market in the region, said
Toh.
The consuming nations are united in their concern that
sustained high energy prices will harm their economies, but the Asian states may
differ on ways to resolve the issue of high energy costs and often vie for
resources.
