China's coal production reached 297 million tonnes in May, a year-on-year hike of 3.5% and the highest level since December 2017, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The surge comes as China is trying to reduce its reliance on coal, which accounts for about 40% of total energy consumption.
China's coal production reached 297 million tonnes in May, a year-on-year hike of 3.5% and the highest level since December 2017, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. It revealed coal production for the first five months of 2018 had risen 4% to 1.4 billion tonnes compared with last year, citing more use of air-conditioning during heatwaves in the south and higher power consumption by industry as the reasons behind the increase.