China is likely to impose a retail fuel tax from January as part of its oil pricing reforms, according to a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The official said the State Council has already approved the reform scheme proposed by the Commission.

"I personally think January 1 is a good time to introduce the fuel tax," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy director of NDRC, at a China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue meeting in Beijing yesterday.