On June 19 at a forum in Beijing entitled "Chinese energy strategy and energy development in the 12th five-year plan period (2011-2015)", China Coal Industry Association (CCIA) president Wang Xianzheng stated, "China's coal industry is characterized by an unreasonable structure. There are currently more than 120,000 small coal deposits with production capacity of below 300,000 mt, accounting for over 80 percent of total deposits in the country. The development of the industry has mainly been dependent on output growth and price increases, rather than on quality."
As regards future development, Mr. Wang said that the structural adjustment of the domestic coal industry should be accelerated with the help of the government, adding that mergers and restructuring of small and medium sized coal enterprises should be vigorously encouraged.
Mr Wang also remarked that in the past four years China's coal sector has completed total fixed assets investments worth RMB 868.5 billion. He also expected that China's coal output will reach around 3.3 billion mt for the current year.