China's Xinhua News Agency has been authorized to release a circular on the government's General Work Plan for Energy Conservation and Pollutant Discharge Reduction, on behalf of the State Council.

According to the circular, the Chinese government will reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20% and major pollutant discharges by 10% in the 11th five-year plan period ending 2010. To ensure energy efficiency and discharge reduction, the State Council has asked all local authorities, government departments and major companies to report their own detailed plans before June 30 and give priority to energy efficiency and discharge reduction, making them a major means to evaluate positive economic development.

Besides outlining more than 40 targets of China's energy efficiency, the general work plan states that preferential policies will be made to reward enterprises that perform well in energy saving, water saving and utilization of renewable energy.