BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country`s energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks.

The leader of the world`s second-largest economy also emphasised hydropower development and ecological protection, while urging the safe and orderly expansion of nuclear power, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.

`The Party Central Committee has gained a profound grasp of global energy development trends and made major decisions by advancing the new energy security strategy in depth,` he said, referring to the ruling Communist Party`s centre of authority. Xi did not directly mention the war in his remarks cited by CCTV.

Coal and greener energy Analysts have pointed out that China is relatively better-positioned to absorb the higher oil prices. Coal accounts for morethan half of its energy mix, while it has ample oil stockpiles and imports via the Strait of Hormuz represent only around 5pc of total energy consumption.

`The path we took in being the first to develop wind and solar power has now proven to be forward-looking. At the same time, coal-fired power remains the foundation of our energy system and must continue to play its supporting role,` Xi said.

China operates more than half of the world`s coal-fired power capacity, making it the top carbon emitter, which Western-led climate initiatives have long contended with.

The country continues to position coal power as a reliability backbone and flexible backup system, even as it accelerates renewables.

Although he underscored the role of coal in China`s energy mix, the president said the countrythe world`s largest consumer of coalmust stay committed to clean, low-carbon development. `A greener, more diversified and resilient new energy system will provide a strong guarantee for China`s energy security andeconomic development,` CCTV said.

Last July, China began construction of what will be the world`s largest hydropower dam on the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau. Construction on a solar thermal power plant by China General Nuclear Power Group at an altitude of 4,550 metres in Tibet has also begun on Monday, according to state Xinhua News Agency.

E-commerce guidance China has issued guidance on Monday for its e-commerce sector that seeks to coordinate domestic development with international markets, a week after a delegation of European lawmakers visited to discuss related challenges and competition.

European Union lawmakers had pressed China about a surge of dangerous products that entered the bloc and limited access to the Chinese market in what was the first European parliamentary visit to the world`s second-largest economy in eight years. Last month, the EU agreed to overhaul its customs system, including a crackdown onmainly Chinese e-commerce platforms that could face fines if they sold illegal or unsafe products in the bloc.

China`s new guidance for its sector, jointly issued by various ministries and regulators, called for striking a balance between promotion and regulation and efficiency and fairness, while integrating the digital and real economies.

It also mentioned forming pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce activities that would be used for special initiatives, establishing rules and standards and expanding platforms into overseas markets.

`We will encourage e-commerce enterprises to establish direct procurement bases overseas, expand imports of highquality and distinctive products and create an e-commerce `express lane` for global goods to enter the Chinese market,` the statement said. The policy move is a constructive step toward easing ChinaEU e-commerce problems, but it is unlikely to resolve the dispute outright, said Chen Bo of the National University of Singapore.The senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute played down the chances of a full institutional settlement, but said a stopgap deal that evolves into a broader agreement could still be achievable.

`(This policy) actually shows the Chinese commitment to promote its e-commerce in the world, because the EU concern is quite representative. It is also the concerns from other leading or developed economies, Chen added.

The guidance, which did not address China`s e-commerce trade with any specific region, was jointly released by the Chinese commerce ministry, the ministries of industry, agriculture and tourism and the cyberspace and market regulators. China`s foreign ministry has said the EU delegation`s visit could improve the bloc`s understanding of China and support stable bilateral ties.

The visit signalled a cautious re-engagement after strains over trade imbalances, Beijing`s ties with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war and tensions surrounding rare-earth export controls.-Reuters