They've been talking about it for well over a decade now. And now we're starting to see a bit more about what the government has in mind when it comes to the reforming of the fuel tax and pricing system in this country. The government has revealed that it plans on increasing the tax for regular gasoline from 0.2 yuan a litre to 1 yuan, and diesel tax per litre will go from 1 Jiao to 8 Jiao. Despite this, the government insists that drivers aren't going to notice any difference at the pumps. The central government also says it's going to put a ceiling on pump prices as part of the plan, and will continue to regulate consumer pricing so that people aren't hit by massive fluctuations in the international price of crude oil. So what is this change going to mean for the petroleum industry here in China? And what can we expect to see as far as global oil prices are concerned in the future?

Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. In this edition of our show we'll be talking about energy reform and energy pricing. So let's get started.

(Music)

First we'll talk about what's happening with China's plan to reform the fuel pricing and taxation system. For this we're joined on the line now by Professor Zha Daojiong, Energy Expert at the School of International Studies at Peking University.

(Dialogue with Zha)

And after a short break, we'll talk to a foreign expert about international oil prices.

(Promo)

Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. I'm Paul James in Beijing. In this edition of the show we're talking about energy reform and energy pricing. For more on this from an international perspective we're joined on the line now by Dr. Carole Nakhle (Nah-ley), Research Fellow at the Surrey Energy Economics Center at the University of Surrey.

(Dialogue with Nakhle)

And with that we close out this edition of People In the Know, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. The government knows it has to reform its fuel policies. And given where the crude prices are right now, this is likely the best time to do it. Questions or comments for us can be sent to people@cri.com.cn. For Executive Director Zhao Yang and Producer Chen Mo and Xu Yang, I'm Paul James in Beijing. Enjoy the day.