"China has abundant resources of coal. The several varieties of coal are the main source for energy consumption. Promoting green and efficient coal production and use is equally important as developing new energy," said Liu Baohua, deputy head of the National Energy Administration.

Liu made the remarks at the Taiyuan Energy Low-Carbon Development Forum, which began in the capital city of Shanxi province on Sept 16.

In 2017, China's energy industry consumed 4.49 billion metric tons of standard coal, up 2.2-percentage points year-on-year.

Coal consumption accounted for 60.4 percent of total energy sources, down an accumulative 8.1 percentage points in the last five years, according to the NEA.

By the end of 2017, about 658 million kilowatts of installed coal-fired capacity achieved low-carbon emissions, causing less pollution than that of gas-fired power stations, Liu said. Gas-fired power is generally considered a relatively cleaner form of energy.