Beijing postpones fuel price hike

The 10% gas price increase announced by the Chinese government at the beginning of November will not be implemented until after current high global fuel prices subside, said Chen Qingtai, a research fellow at the State Council's Development Research Center. Chen, speaking at an auto conference in Beijing, said the proposed tax was intended to assist the current car tax in pursuading drivers to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars in order to reduce pollution, the South China Morning Post reported. A recent report by the China Association of
Automobile Manufacturers found that only 134,300 small-engine cars
were sold in the first half of 2007, a decrease of 28.7% from 2006, while total sales of cars continue to rise. The price of oil reached US$95 a barrel last week.