China cuts coal overcapacity

BEIJING -- China has eliminated about 560 million tons coal production capacity in the past five years, the China National Coal Association said on Wednesday.

During the 12th five-year period (2011-2015), China closed 7,250 coal mines, said Chen Yangcai, head of statistics and information with the association.

China had about 11,000 coal mines at the end of 2015. Among these, some around 1,000 had annual production capacity above 1.2 million tons, about 400 more than in 2010.

Domestic coal demand shrank 2.9 percent year-on-year in 2014 and is expected to have dropped 4 percent in 2015, as demand dwindles through economic slowdown, restructuring and environmental protection, said Jiang Zhimin, deputy head of the association.