A senior Chinese official has reignited the long-running debate on the imposition of a road fuel tax, saying in a speech released on Tuesday “the time was ripe now” for its introduction.

Zhu Zhigang, a vice-minister of finance, said the ministry also supported the introduction of a tax on crude oil production, starting at 5 per cent, to be raised later to 10 per cent. The ministry did not specify when the tax would take effect, saying “it should be imposed as soon as possible”.