China is promoting the use of ethanol-enriched petrol for motor vehicles in nine provinces, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said yesterday.

Liu Tienan, director of the commission's Department of Industry, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying China had successfully established four bases of fuel ethanol production, with a capacity of 1.02 million tons every year.

Two State-owned oil industry giants, China National Petroleum Corporation and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, now have a production capacity of 10.2 million tons of ethanol-enriched petrol every year.

The consumption of ethanol-enriched petrol accounted for 20 per cent of the nation's total petrol consumption last year.

Liu said the nation is now spreading the use of ethanol-enriched petrol in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Henan, Anhui, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces.

In 2005, North China's three provinces grew 4.27 million tons of maize to produce fuel ethanol, an increase of 135 per cent over 2003.

"Fuel ethanol is a renewable and environmentally friendly resource," Liu said. "The spread of ethanol-enriched petrol has great significance because it can save energy, protect the environment and digest stocked grain."

Compared to regular petrol, ethanol-enriched fuel burns cleaner and produces fewer harmful emissions. It also has higher octane, which can help vehicles achieve maximum horsepower.

"And since ethanol can be distilled from maize, it plays a key role in efforts to reduce our country's dependence on oil," Liu said.

Liu said soaring international crude oil prices are putting great pressure on China's economic development and it is very urgent to find substitutes to oil.

Zhao Xuewen, an expert with Industrialization of Agriculture Office of Liaoning Province, said Northeast China, located in one of the world's three major "Corn Belts," plays a key role in the new energy revolution.

In 2005, the three provinces in Northeast China produced 40.63 million tons of maize, 30 per cent of the nation's total maize output.