China would step up efforts to improve laws and regulations related to the coal industry, said the country's energy authorities on Monday.

Lacking a sound legal system is one of the fundamental factors detrimental to the healthy development of China's coal sector, Wu Yin, deputy head of the National Administration of Energy (NEA), told Xinhua.

Establishing a sound legal system governing the coal industry is an urgent task to ensure the sector develop in a healthy manner, he added.

The new regulations would focus on coal exploitation planning, resource management, coalmine work safety, protection of coal miners' rights and interests, and environmental protection, among other issues.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2010)