Commercial production of shale gas could start in China within five years, but the country has to move fast to improve its extraction technology and lower the cost, executives from major participating companies said.

The potential huge shale gas output is likely to change China's energy consumption structure over the coming decades, said Yun Gongmin, general manager of Chinese electricity giant China Huadian Corp.

"It won't take long for China to begin large-scale shale gas exploration. I expect it to happen in less than five years," Yun said. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.