BEIJING - Clouds contain a vast amount of valuable water resources, and China boasts a potential reserve of 280 billion tonnes of cloud water to tap each year, director of China's meteorological administration said Saturday.

The amount is equal to seven times the storage capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project.

Chinese meteorological authorities need to make good use of water resources to solve the country's water shortage, said Zheng Guoguang, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body.

Meteorological authorities are conducting research on cloud water resources to find ways to harvest the water, Zheng said.

With more than 6,900 artillery guns, 7,000 rocket launch pads and more than 50 airplanes rented each year, China is able to exploit 50 billion cubic meters of cloud water annually, he said.

Chinese meteorological authorities are also evaluating other climate resources for future development, including wind power, solar power and agricultural climate resources, Zheng added.

The annual session of the CPPCC National Committee opened in Beijing Saturday afternoon. More than 2,000 members of the CPPCC National Committee will discuss major issues concerning the country's development during the session, which is scheduled to conclude on March 13.