China's national oil reserve center was set up Monday, the country's top economic planning agency confirmed Tuesday.

With the approval of the Chinese government, the center was officially launched, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which oversees a wide-range of social and economic affairs, including energy.

The center, the administrative body of the country's national oil reserve system, takes the responsibility of building and making use of the country's strategic oil reserves, the commission said in a statement.