Chinese premier stresses ensuring agricultural production, energy supply

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday urged efforts to stabilize agricultural production in the spring, and ensure a bumper harvest and the supply of important farm produce.

Chairing a State Council executive meeting, Li also stressed ensuring and increasing the energy supply to better safeguard economic and social development.

The meeting noted that all localities should strictly fulfill their responsibilities on food security, coordinating COVID-19 epidemic control with agricultural production.

Meanwhile, "green channels" should be opened for the smooth transportation of fresh farm produce like vegetables, while funds for assisting grain production should be delivered to farmers as quickly as possible, the meeting said.

On ensuring energy supply, the meeting urged efforts to give full play to coal as the main energy source and step up coal production, with an additional 300 million tonnes of coal production capacity to be added this year.

The country will also promote the clean and efficient use of coal and strengthen the construction of storage facilities, it said.

The low-carbon transformation of coal-fired power plants should be advanced to improve energy efficiency while ensuring power supply, according to the meeting.

The meeting also called for developing nuclear power in an orderly manner on the premise of exercising strict oversight, and approval was granted for three new nuclear power units.