China's cabinet approved in principle the draft of China's medium- and long-term energy development program, covering the period from 2004 to 2020, at its executive meeting Wednesday, June 30.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, held that to solve China's energy problem, efforts must be made in the following areas:

-- Make energy conservation the top priority. Energy conservation systems and measures should be carried out comprehensively and strictly to substantially improve the efficiency of energy utilization.

-- Adjust and optimize the energy structure. Pursue an energy development strategy with coal forming the mainstay and electricity the center of the energy structure, while promoting comprehensive development of oil, gas and new forms of energy.

-- Work for a rational geographic distribution of energy development projects that takes into account of the needs of all areas, and the factors of production, transport and consumption. Energy and communication projects should develop in a coordinated way.

-- Fully tap both domestic and overseas resources and markets. While making domestic energy exploration, exploitation and construction projects as the basis, China should also actively participate in energy resource cooperation and development projects around the world.

-- Rely on scientific and technological advance and innovation. Advanced technology should be adopted and scientific management should be beefed up.

-- Enhance environmental protection and strive to reduce the impact of energy production and consumption on the environment.

-- Attach a high degree of importance to energy security. Energy supply should be diversified, construction of oil reserves should be accelerated and the energy security pre-warning and rapid response mechanism should be improved.

-- Institute safeguard measures for energy development. Policies regarding energy resources and energy development should be improved, the market mechanism should be brought into full play and input in energy issues should be increased.

The meeting held that to fundamentally solve China's energy problem, it's imperative to firmly adopt and earnestly carry out the scientific viewpoint of development. The mode of economic growth should be transformed and a new-type industrialization road taken.

It urges adjusting the industrial structure, product mix, technological structure and the organization structure of enterprises and promoting technological, institutional and management innovation to foster an energy conservation-minded economy and society.