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 China has the money to secure future energy reserves
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China has signalled that it could use its vast foreign exchange reserves to bolster its strategic energy resources.
Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said China needed to speed up the hunt for fresh oil and natural gas supplies.
China's foreign exchange reserves are the world's largest at more than $1 trillion (£511bn), supported by the country's strong global exports.
China is keen to secure future reserves of oil, coal and other raw materials needed to fuel its booming economy.
Earlier this year, Beijing hosted a summit of African leaders, at which access to Africa's natural resources was discussed in return for Chinese investment in Africa's roads and railways.
Price controls
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China should "take advantage of the fact we have quite large foreign exchange reserves to enhance our national strategic energy reserves", Mr Zeng told the standing committee of the Chinese parliament.
He added that the country should establish a coal resources reserve system, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Mr Zeng's comments came as Chinese state-run oil refiner Sinopec revealed that it had been handed a 5bn yuan government rebate to compensate it for refining losses.
Sinopec, Asia's biggest oil refining company, was hit by a 12.58bn yuan loss during the third quarter of 2006, up from 6.6bn yuan a year earlier.
Analysts said the surprise rebate was, in effect, a subsidy for Beijing's refusal to allow Chinese domestic petrol and diesel prices to rise as fast as international markets.
'Balanced level'
Separately, China said it planned to increase efforts to make its currency, the yuan, more flexible and allow market forces to play a bigger role in setting its value.
The yuan has inched higher ever since Beijing loosened its peg to the dollar in 2005 and revalued it by 2.1%.
But central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China was committed to keeping the yuan at a "reasonable, balanced level".
Critics say the yuan remains heavily undervalued, allowing China to keep its export prices low.
A high-level US delegation, including US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, visited Beijing earlier this month to press China on its huge trade surplus and the value of the yuan.
China promised a more flexible currency policy to help close the trade gap with the US, which is set to reach a record $229bn by the end of 2006.