China's Vice Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the government would not impose fuel tax in the near future.

Lou told a just concluded national meeting the government will consider the issue when the oil prices drop to a rational level.

Fuel tax, a sensitive issue, has been on the agenda of China's overall economic plan, but is still awaiting a proper opportunity such as lower international oil price.

Fuel tax is believed to be one of the best weapons to check China's rising oil demand.

The fundamental reason for the lagging implementation of fuel tax is the benefit distribution among different sectors, such as transportation and taxation institutions, and central and local governments.

The Chinese government has made a clear commitment to building a more efficient society, which will be of great significance to enhancing the nation's economic growth mode and overall economic and social development.

The implementation of fuel tax has been delayed again and again out of the concern that imposing the tax at a time of high oil prices could stun China's CPI (consumer price index) and disadvantage the country's hundreds of millions of farmers, especially at a time when China has a surging dependence on fuel imports.

The undecided levy of fuel tax is also related to the hesitant reform of the country's refined oil pricing mechanism and the painful removal of the limitation on small-emission automobiles.

China's energy consumption efficiency is quite low compared with the world average level and its industrialization and urbanization process promise higher energy demand in the future.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2005)