China Reports Increased Energy Efficiency

China's energy efficiency improved in the first half of the year, state press said July 31. Energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 2.78% the China Securities Journal reported.

However, the step forward looks rather modest when compared with the government's goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20% between 2006 and 2010 from the level in 2005.

Last year, energy consumption per GDP unit fell only 1.33%, less than one third of the stated annual goal, to fuel an economy that expanded by 11.1%, continuing the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007