East China province sees reduced coal consumption

JINAN -- East China's Shandong province saw reduced coal consumption in 2017 as it slashed production in energy-consuming industries and promoted the use of new energy.

Coal consumption dropped by 6.6 percent year-on-year in 2017, which was the biggest margin in 10 years, said Wei Huaxiang, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong provincial government.

The provincial government drew up a plan to replace coal use with new energy sources. Electricity generated by new energy reached 34.5 billion kilowatt hours last year, up 29.7 percent year on year.

In 2017, Shandong's GDP grew 7.4 percent year-on-year to reach 7.2 trillion yuan. It is the third province in China to beat the 7-trillion mark, alongside Guangdong and Jiangsu.

Growth in the service industry and the trade rebound contributed to the robust growth.