China's state-owned coal mines will cut down their output by 50 million tons next year so as to lay a sound foundation to revive the industry, "China Daily" reported on December 6.

China had closed down 30,500 small coal mines by the end of October this year, reducing the output by 202.18 million tons.

To change the formidable trend that most companies in the industry are operating at losses, more efforts should be made to close redundant mines and slash coal production, Sheng Huaren, minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission, was quoted as saying at a three-day national working conference that ended on Saturday in Beijing.

Although the annual coal output has been decreasing in recent years, oversupply is still the main headache for the staggering sector, he said, adding that the country will strive to fulfill the task of producing about 900 million tons of coal next year.

He said that small mines located within the boundaries of State key mines or with underdeveloped technology will be completely shut down next year. (China Daily)