BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ministry of
Commerce (MOC)on Saturday urged local commerce bureaus to set up and improve
early warning system amid efforts to stabilize domestic oil supplies.
Many filling stations across the country are
experiencing shortages.
Experts have said that the government should reform
the oil pricing mechanism to reflect international levels and allow oil firms to
transfer the cost to customers.
The MOC ordered local commerce authorities to closely
monitor the oil market and set up and improve early warning system to tackle
emergency fuel shortages.
The commerce bureaus should urge local refineries to
increase and rationally distribute fuel supplies, the MOC said in a notice.
The MOC called on China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC) and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), the
nation's two largest oil producers, to go all out to ensure the fuel supplies.
The fuel shortages have been eased to some extent
after the price hikes early this month, but many regions still face tight diesel
supply, according to the notice.
China raised the prices of gasoline, diesel and
aviation kerosene by 500 yuan (67.6 U.S. dollars) per ton, almost a 10 percent
rise, starting from November 1.