The daily crude steel output stood at 1.93 million tonnes in early January, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

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

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.

Exports would recover slowly because of the global economic downturn, according to the newspaper.

Northeast China's Heilongjiang province saw its foreign trade in goods grow by 33 percent year-on-year to 265.15 billion yuan ($39.44 billion) in 2022, customs data showed.

This year, Inner Mongolia will also step up the clean and efficient use of coal, Wang said.

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

China launched an energy revolution pilot program in Shanxi in 2019, promoting the coal-rich province to explore energy transition.