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.