China to cut 800m tons of coal capacity annually by 2020

BEIJING - China aims to optimize the structure of its coal production by reducing outdated capacity and increasing the use of cleaner products.

The world's largest coal producer and consumer will cut outdated coal capacity by 800 million metric tons per year by 2020, while increasing use of cleaner coal by 500 million tons, according to the coal industry 2016-2020 development plan issued by the country's top economic planner.

Total coal output will stand at about 3.9 billion tons in 2020, compared with 3.75 billion tons in 2015, while China will consume 4.1 billion tons of coal, up from 3.96 billion tons in 2015.

There will be about 3,000 coal enterprises in 2020, mostly large companies, running about 6,000 collieries nationwide, with large-capacity coal mines the majority.

The plan also outlines targets to improve coal production safety and efficiency, as well as reducing impact on the environment.