An international symposium on strategy to develop energy in rural areas will be held this May in Guilin, the renowned scenic city in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. According to officials with the regional government's energy office, the symposium was sponsored jointly by the World Energy Council, the United Nations Development Program, and the World Bank, after a delegation of experts from these three organizations visited China to study the utilization of energies in rural areas.

The symposium will focus on the effective utilization of rural energy to maintain sustainable economic development. About 120 experts from the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, and inland Chinese provinces are expected to attend.