Proposed legislation in China seeks to set up a strategic coal reserve to ensure energy security.

Building a strategic coal reserve is on the top of a list of 10 articles proposed for addition to the current coal law, Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information Institute, told China Daily.

The law is still being drafted and would determine the size of the reserve as well as where the sites would be.

The country has so far mapped out plans only for oil reserves. There are four strategic oil reserve bases and two in East China's Zhejiang Province already hold a capacity of 5 million tons each. The other two reserve bases will be in Huangdao and Dalian, by the end of 2008.

The reserve was discussed at a meeting chaired by the Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai a few weeks ago, Shengchu said. The amendment to the coal law is scheduled to be submitted to the Legislation Office of the State Council for review by the end of 2007 and presented for discussion at the National People's Congress sessions in 2008.

The country's annual coal output reached 2.3 billion tons last year. Exports were 63 million tons and imports, 38 million tons. Coal currently accounts for 70 percent of the country's energy consumption.