China is restructuring its oil subsidies policy. This is according to a circular jointly issued by the State Council, Ministry of Finance, and three other ministries. The oil subsidies adjustment was launched at the beginning of 2015. It is aimed at promoting market-oriented behavior and will change the practice of linking oil subsidies to the volume of fuel consumption.

The report says fuel subsidies to the urban public transport, rural passenger transport, taxi, fishery, and forestry sectors totaled 504 billion yuan between 2006 and 2014. However, it also points out the need for reform arose because as the size of the subsidies grew, their effectiveness lessened.