Experts from China and the United States today gathered in Jinan, capital of east China's Shangdong Province, for a conference on Sino-US energy partnership programs.

The conference is aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation on the use of energy resources, especially on environmental protection technologies, sources attending the conference said.

Experts from the two countries will discuss a new clean-coal technology known as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and other technologies related to environmental protection.

This was the first such meeting to discuss the energy partnership exchange programs.

Zhang Xiaolu, a Chinese energy expert attending the conference, said that by the end of last year, China had generated 1.167 trillion kilowatts-hour (kwh) of electricity and developed an installed generating capacity of 270 million kilowatts (kw) this year, ranking second in the world in both categories.

In the future, China will pay more attention to energy quality rather than quantity, and strengthen cooperation with US and other developed countries on the use of electricity as a way of protecting the environment.

Zhang said China has IGCC projects planned for Sichuan, Shandong and other provinces.

An official with the US Energy Department told Xinhua that China is the largest potential market for environmental protection technology, adding that the United States welcomes China's public sector and enterprises to participate more actively in the Sino- American energy partnership program.