Society

At least 17 people were killed and 118 injured in south China's Guangdong province as of Monday after hailstones, cloudburst and strong wind ravaged the region, flood control authorities said.

A view of the destroyed building after an explosion at a chemical plant in Lamadian Town of Daqing City of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, April 14, 2011.

At least nine people were killed in an explosion at a chemical plant in Lamadian Town of Daqing City of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province Wednesday night, local officials said early Thursday morning.

The explosion and fire occurred at about 10:10 pm Wednesday at a three-storey building at Fuxing Chemical Plant located in Lamadian Town of Ranghulu District in Daqing.

Fourteen people were inside the building when the accident happened, local government said.

Nine people died on the scene while the other five people fled the building.

The fire has been extinguished by firefighters by press time, but the air near the plant was full of the burnt smell, according to Xinhua's on-the-spot reporter.

Cause of the explosion remained unknown, as investigation and search efforts are still underway.

Chinese President Hu Jintao called for the reform of international monetary and financial systems on Thursday, saying that the say and representation of emerging markets and developing countries should be increased.

"We should establish fair, just, inclusive and well-managed international monetary and financial systems to support global economic development and increase the say and representation of emerging markets and developing countries in these systems," Hu said at the summit which was attended by leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"We should set up a a just and equitable international free trade system, oppose protectionism in all its forms, strengthen the multilateral trading regime and push for early attainment of the goals of a development round at the Doha Round negotiation," Hu said.

Hu said the international financial crisis has aroused much thinking and discussion about world economic imbalances.

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.