BEIJING — Chopsticks are often optional for American's eating out at Chinese restaurants. But the ubiquitous utensil is a basic necessity in China. But the use of disposable chopsticks could cause serious problems according to a Chinese official.

Bo Guangxin, the chairman of the state-owned forestry firm Jilin Forest Industry, told the Xinhua news agency Monday that some 80 billion disposable chopsticks are made in China each year. He'd like to see people's eating habits change to curb production of the resource-intensive product.

"To solve the issue, I think we first need to bring a change to people's eating habits and urge everyone to carry their own chopsticks around. Secondly, we should gradually introduce a replacement for such chopsticks," he told Xinhua.

China is the world's leading importer of wood, consuming some 180 million cubic meters in 2011. Domestically, Chinese officials have set a goal of increasing forest coverage by 40 million hectares in the next six years in order to fight resource loss.

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By comparison, the United States alone consumes some 40 billion disposable plastic utensils, according to WorldCentric.org.

Bo said that roughly 20 million trees aged 20 years need to be cut down in order to produce 80 billion chopsticks. That number of utensils could cover Tienanmen Square about 360 times.

This isn't the first time that Chinese officials have run into problems with consumption of these basic goods. In 2006, a 5-percent tax was levied on chopsticks and some other products to curb usage.