China is stepping up efforts to develop various new and renewable forms of energy, focusing on hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal and tidal sources.

According to the China Energy Research Society (CERS), these as yet untapped forms will be the main sources of energy in the next century, and are expected to account for five to ten percent in the world's total energy demands by 2025, or even 50 percent by 2050.

China is rich in new and renewable energy sources, said CERS experts. Statistics show that China has recoverable wind energy sources of 160 million kw, geothermal sources of 3.5 million kw and tidal energy sources of more than 20 million kw .

In addition, the country's vast rural areas have nearly 300 million tons of biological materials for developing methane gas.

In China currently, various new and renewable forms of energy being used annually are estimated at an equivalent of 300 million tons of standard coal.

Over 200,000 small windmills are used by people in mountainous areas, remote countryside and islands. And the country has imported medium-sized and large windmills from Denmark, the Netherlands, and the US to equip over 20 wind power plants.

According to the CERS experts, more than 7,000 small hydropower stations have been set up nationwide with a total installed capacity of 20 million kw.

Some 75 percent of the rural households in China use energy- saving stoves, with annual methane gas production topping 1.5 billion cubic meters.

China is also rich in tidal energy, 90 percent of which located in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. So far, a dozen tidal power stations have been set up with a total installed capacity of 20, 000 kw.