Society

A high-ranking Chinese official has publicly admitted for the first time that the country is on the verge of overtaking the United States to become the globe's biggest energy consumer.

The world's second-largest economy has been under mounting pressure to transform its economic development pattern, further improve energy efficiency and diversify its energy-supply mix.

"As there are no final statistics (for energy consumption), we are still the second-biggest energy consumer," said Ding Zhimin, "but very soon we will take first place."

Ding, deputy director-general of the Policy and Law Department of the National Energy Administration, made the comments at a panel discussion at the European Parliament organized by the Beijing-based Europe-China Clean Energy Center.

It's the first time that a Chinese official has publicly admitted that the country will soon overtake the US. However, China's per capita energy consumption is far lower than that of the US, Ding said.

A group of police officers during routine duty in Shenzhen, South of China’s Guangdong province, April 10, 2011.

Shenzhen has ejected about 80,000 "potentially unstable people" in a bid to secure social stability for the upcoming 26th Summer Universiade, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

Shen Shaobao, vice director of Shenzhen Police Bureau announced the figure from the "100-days Social Security Campaign" during a news conference.

A residential building in economic-technical development zone of Urumchi exploded at 14:00 11th Apr. 2011.

According latest report, there are 10 people wounded slightly in this explosion.

Preliminary investigations suggest that fuel gas exploded, causing part of the two-floor apartment building to collapse, said a spokesman with the municipal government's information office.

The accident occurred at 8:27 am at the 5th Entrance of the No 3 apartment building in the 12th neighborhood of Heping East Street, Chaoyang District.