New rules on the domestic oil trade have sparked concerns over the country's willingness to open the sector to foreign companies this year as it has committed to do, the Wall Street Journal reported. China's retail oil business was opened at the end of 2004, allowing foreign companies like Total to run small filling stations, and the country is due to open the wholesale market by the end of this year in line with its WTO commitments. But a draft of new oil distribution regulations is not clear on what licenses will be issued or what they will allow companies to do, executives at Total said. �Until the rules are clarified and precise, we won�t know if there is a genuine willingness to open this sector,� Jacques de Boisseson, Total's general representative in China, said.
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