China to further release coal production capacity

Aerial photo taken on May 26, 2021 shows an opencast coal mine in Erdos, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/He Shuchen)

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will accelerate the release of coal production capacity to ensure an adequate supply of energy, said Jing Jian, an official with the National Mine Safety Administration, on Wednesday.

The move aims to mitigate the recent coal supply crunch, Jing said at a press conference, adding that the country will streamline the approval process for coal production to put qualified mines into operation as soon as possible.

Currently, some 153 coal mines have qualified for the administration's list for emergency supply, and are expected to increase production capacity by 220 million tonnes per year, according to the official.

Jing estimated an additional 55 million tonnes of coal to be produced by these mines in the fourth quarter of this year.

China has rolled out multiple measures to stabilize the energy supply as winter approaches. Since the end of September, a batch of coal mines has been approved and put into operation.

On Oct. 18, the country's daily coal output exceeded 11.6 million tonnes, setting a new high this year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The economic planner also recently announced an improved pricing mechanism for coal-fired power to deepen market-oriented pricing reform in the sector.