Exports surged by 28 percent to 1.06 trillion yuan, while imports were recorded at 950 billion yuan, an increase of 14.2 percent.

Leveraging advantages, inland areas grab competition from big industries.

Their total profits stood at 8.4 trillion yuan in this period, down 4 percent from a year earlier, the NBS data revealed.

Gwede Mantashe admits constraints at mining indaba, says state is working on solutions

Its output growth rates over the past two years far exceeded that of the three leading coal-producing regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia.

Power consumption data can reflect situations of enterprises' production and economic operation, and thus become a key barometer of economic activity, experts said.

China's raw coal output posted stable expansion in December 2022, official data showed.

Last year, Shanxi provided 620 million tonnes of thermal coal for another 24 provincial-level regions in China, according to the provincial statistics bureau.