Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan Tuesday stressed the importance of a healthy mining industry to the country's sustainable economic.

Zeng made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the China Mining 2004, an international symposium on mining industry, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday.

Zeng outlined four major tasks Chinese mining industry has to focus on in the years to come so as to improve the sector that is significantly fundamental to the national economic progress and social development.

The first task, he noted, is to encourage environmental protection and strict economy on resources utilization.

Chinese government will take efforts to slow construction projects that involve heavy consumption of water and energy. Meanwhile, out-of-date production technology, equipment and products should be replaced with environment-friendly modern ones, he said.

Recycling economy allowing repeated utilization of energy and resources should be encouraged while the production of clean coal and protection of ecology within mining areas must be inspired, he said.

The second task facing China is to strengthen domestic energy exploitation.

Zeng said that China is mapping a feasible energy strategy and is strengthening its mineral reserve survey and investigation on scarce resources.

To realize mineral exploitation in a rational and ordered way, China will take efforts to modernize existing mines, support the establishment of competitive mining groups and guide the development of small mines.

China will also work to establish a market-oriented mining industry.

He assured more than 1,000 delegates present at the ceremony that Chinese government will deepen its reform on the pay-for-use system on mineral resources, further regulate mining rights and tighten its management on business environment so as to better defend the legitimate interests of minding enterprises.

China will also double its efforts to boost international trade in mineral products, encourage competitive domestic enterprises to join in overseas exploitation based upon the principles of equality and mutual benefits, and weave a solid and secure energy supply chain, he said.

Looking back on the past five decades, Zeng said that mining industry's contribution to China's economic development could never been overestimated.

Since the new China was established in 1949, Chinese people have launched massive geological survey and found many mineral reserves.

Currently, about 92 percent of the country's one-time energy, 80 percent of its industrial raw materials and 70 percent of agricultural production materials has come from its mineral resources.

To alleviate the pressure of urbanization and industrialization on energy demand, China will learn to make use of international markets and technical innovation to seek a sustained development of its mining industry, he said.

China Mining 2004, the sixth of its kind, was initiated in 1999 and hosted by the Ministry of Land and Resources. This year's theme is "Boosting mining industry's common prosperity through global exchange and cooperation."