China to introduce stricter fuel standards in '10

China will introduce fuel standards next year that are stricter than the standards recently announced by Obama, the New York Times reports.

Fuel economy will have to improve by 18% by 2015 in China, which equates to an average of 42.2 mpg, compared to the 35.5 mpg average Obama wants for the U.S. by 2016.

This is a proactive step to initiate a policy of conservation, which seems to be one of the limited options for dealing with a price spike in oil. Just this week alone, The EIA, IEA, Saudi Arabia and McKinsey all said oil will race to triple digit prices in the next few years.

China is concerned about energy security, and growth. Cutting back on oil demand addresses both concerns. It will also cut back on pollution, and spur innovation, which could result in more Chinese car exports.

China, who's drivers mostly buy small and light cars, already has stricter fuel standards than the U.S. in place today.