The mission to save energy while developing the economy has been accomplished in all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions during the previous five years, the Chinese government said Friday.
In a joint statement with the National Bureau of Statistics (NDRC), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) had dropped by 19.1 percent during the 11th Five-year Plan period (2006-2010).
"The achievement is remarkable," said the NDRC-NBS statement by NDRC and NBS.
According to the statement, the economy expanded by an average annual growth rate of 11.2 percent over the past five years, but its energy consumption grew by only 6.6 percent annually on average.
Except for a separate evaluation criteria for Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, all 30 other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions fulfilled their energy-saving goals for 2006-2010, with the national capital of Beijing taking the lead.
According to the statement, Beijing had to consume 58,200 metric tons of coal equivalent for an output of each 1 billion yuan (154 million U.S. dollars) in 2010, compared with 79,200 metric tons at the end of 2005.
China has vowed to make its economy greener and reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent and lower carbon dioxide emission emission per unit of GDP by 17 percent in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) as part of the efforts to combat climate change.