Guided by the Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee
Continuously Forging a New Chapter in High-Quality Coal Development
Liu Tao, Director of the Coal Department of the National Energy Administration
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made a major strategic deployment to build China into an energy powerhouse, explicitly proposing to accelerate the construction of a new energy system, promote the peaking of coal consumption, and strengthen the clean and efficient utilization of fossil energy, which has pointed the way forward and provided fundamental guidance for the high-quality development of coal. The coal industry must deeply study and comprehend the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, accurately grasp the new situations and tasks faced during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, accelerate the construction of a modern coal industry system characterized by secure and stable supply, green and intelligent development, clean and efficient utilization, and scientific and standardized governance, continuously forge a new chapter in the high-quality development of coal, and solidify the energy security foundation for Chinese modernization.
Deeply Implementing the New Energy Security Strategy
Historic Achievements in Coal Development During the "14th Five-Year Plan"
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the coal industry adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply implemented the new energy security strategy, focused on high-quality development as the theme, deepened supply-side structural reform as the main line, steadily advanced the construction of advanced coal production capacity, solidly promoted intelligent, green, and safe development. Historic transformations have taken place in coal production and consumption methods, and historic achievements have been made in the industry's high-quality development.
Making every effort to ensure coal supply and price stability, the foundation for energy security has become more solid. Shouldering the primary responsibility of ensuring national energy security, fully leveraging its role as the main energy source, orderly developing advanced coal production capacity, steadily increasing total supply, and significantly enhancing the bottom-line guarantee capability. Since the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan", a number of large modern coal mines have been completed and put into operation. In 2025, China's raw coal output from designated large enterprises reached 4.83 billion tons, an increase of over 900 million tons compared to 2020, laying a solid foundation for stable energy supply. A new model for coal production capacity management has been initiated, establishing a production capacity reserve system and an activation mechanism, realizing "storing coal underground and energy in mines", accelerating the construction of production capacity reserves exceeding 100 million tons per year, and continuously enhancing the flexibility of coal supply. Strengthening monitoring and analysis of supply and demand situations, optimizing and improving coal supply policies, intensifying market expectation guidance and regulation, promptly introducing policies and measures to ensure supply and stabilize prices, and promoting the stable operation of the coal market.
Continuously deepening supply-side structural reform, the structure of the coal industry has been continuously optimized. Planning and constructing five major coal supply guarantee bases in Shanxi, Western Inner Mongolia, Eastern Inner Mongolia, Northern Shaanxi, and Xinjiang, promoting further concentration of coal production in western regions with good resource conditions and strong competitiveness. The production capacity of these five bases accounts for about 80% of the national total. Adhering to the principle of "developing larger and more efficient mines while phasing out smaller and less efficient ones", orderly phasing out outdated capacity, the number of coal mines nationwide has decreased to over 4,000. Large mines with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons or more account for 85% of the national capacity. The average scale of production mines has increased to 1.7 million tons per year, significantly enhancing the scale and intensification of coal development. Establishing a coordinated development mechanism for key enterprises, promoting a steady increase in industry concentration, the output share of enterprises with an annual raw coal production exceeding 50 million tons has reached 56%, and the leading role of large enterprises in the industry has been further strengthened.
Deeply implementing intelligent coal mine construction, productivity levels have significantly improved. Promoting the deep integration of new-generation information technology with the coal industry, strengthening top-level design, improving supporting policies, formulating guidelines for intelligent coal mine development and construction, promoting the construction of pilot intelligent coal mines, accelerating the promotion and application of intelligent technologies, coal mine intelligence has entered a stage of in-depth development. The technological and equipment level of the industry has significantly improved. Successful development of 10-meter ultra-large mining height intelligent fully mechanized mining technology and equipment, engineering application of full-face tunneling machines for hard rock roadways and ultra-large diameter shaft sinking complete equipment, with technological levels reaching international leadership, and the scale of coal machinery equipment manufacturing ranking first in the world. By the end of 2025, the proportion of intelligent production capacity built nationwide exceeded 65%. Mining with fewer or no personnel is gradually becoming a reality. The average reduction ratio of personnel per shift in coal mining and tunneling faces both exceeded 20%, significantly improving safety assurance levels and production efficiency.
Comprehensively advancing clean and efficient coal utilization, new achievements have been made in green and low-carbon development. Researching and formulating policy measures for coal washing and processing, integrated development of coal and new energy, etc., issuing and implementing special action plans, adhering to pollution reduction, carbon reduction, and energy efficiency improvement as the main direction, promoting the rapid improvement of clean and efficient utilization levels throughout the entire coal lifecycle. Strictly implementing green and environmentally friendly mining requirements, actively promoting green mining technologies such as backfill mining and water-preserved mining, promoting clean energy substitution for coal mine energy use, and promoting comprehensive green transformation in mining areas. Strengthening source management of coal quality, requiring new coal mines to have supporting coal preparation plants, promoting technologies and processes like dry separation according to local conditions, steadily improving the comprehensive utilization rate of coal gangue and the raw coal washing rate. Promoting centralized utilization of coal consumption, steadily advancing industrial demonstrations for coal-to-oil/gas and high-oil coal grading utilization, and building the world's largest clean coal power coal utilization system.
Accelerating the development and utilization of coalbed methane (coal mine gas), comprehensive benefits in resource, environmental, and safety aspects have been fully realized. Increasing efforts in coalbed methane exploration and development, promoting continuous reserve increase and production growth in industrial bases such as the Qinshui Basin and the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin. In 2025, coalbed methane production reached 15.5 billion cubic meters, 2.3 times that of 2020, becoming an important supplement to natural gas supply. Increasing innovation and promotion of coal mine gas prevention technology and equipment, promoting the transformation of gas extraction methods from underground to combined surface and underground, and the transformation of gas utilization scope from mainly high concentration to full concentration. In 2025, gas utilization volume reached 6.16 billion cubic meters. Supporting coal mine enterprises in implementing key safety renovation projects, strengthening project supervision and management, promoting continuous improvement in safety production levels. The national coal fatality rate per million tons during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period decreased significantly.
Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Coal Industry System
Striving for a Good Start to the "15th Five-Year Plan"
2026 is the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan". The Coal Department of the National Energy Administration will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly implement the deployment arrangements of the National Energy Work Conference, better balance development and security, take ensuring safe and stable coal supply as the primary task, industry transformation and development as the main direction, and governance capacity improvement as an important guarantee, deepen reform and innovation in step with the times, and strive to achieve a good start and a solid beginning for coal development in the "15th Five-Year Plan".
Focusing on the goal of building an energy powerhouse, formulate and implement the "15th Five-Year Plan" for coal with high quality. Coal consumption is about to peak during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. Coal undertakes the tasks of basic guarantee and system regulation in the new energy system. It is necessary to further strengthen top-level institutional design, leverage the role of strategic planning, policies and regulations, strengthen institutional construction and implementation supervision, and continuously improve industry governance efficiency. Strengthen situation analysis and strategic research, formulate and implement the "15th Five-Year Plan" for coal and the coalbed methane (coal mine gas) development and utilization plan with high quality, providing scientific guidance for coal development. Establish a planning implementation guarantee mechanism, strengthen planning guidance and constraints, strengthen the "single ledger" management of coal capacity increase and withdrawal, and improve the precision and effectiveness of coal production capacity regulation. Deepen industry management and reform, strengthen the whole-process management of mining area master plans, improve capacity replacement policies, refine industry access standards, increase policy coordination and support, and promote sustainable industrial development.
Leveraging the role of bottom-line guarantee, construct coal supply guarantee bases to high standards. Coal is the greatest confidence in firmly holding China's energy "rice bowl". Based on national conditions, maintaining strategic resolve, using the certainty of coal supply to cope with various uncertainties, and consolidating the foundation of national energy security. Continuously optimize coal development layout, according to the principle of "stabilizing central and eastern regions, orderly developing western regions", reasonably plan and scientifically arrange new coal production capacity, maintaining reasonable and sufficient capacity. Coordinate and promote the construction of five major coal supply guarantee bases, orderly approve and construct a number of large modern coal mine projects, ensure capacity succession in core production areas, and enhance the "hard power" of coal supply. Actively expand the scale of production capacity reserves, promote the construction of production capacity reserves in qualified coal mines, gradually forming a coal production capacity reserve pattern with appropriate scale, effective regulation, and strong guarantee. Promote the improvement and perfection of the coal market system, proactively conduct expectation guidance and market regulation, guide coastal areas in the east to reasonably grasp the scale and pace of imports, effectively leverage the supplementary and adjusting role of imports, and promote dynamic balance of coal supply and demand with prices stable within a reasonable range.
Adhering to the leadership of scientific and technological innovation, promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries with high efficiency. A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs. It is necessary to deeply grasp the path and direction of developing new quality productive forces, accelerate deep integration with digital and intelligent technologies, and "breathe new life" into traditional industries. Accelerate intelligent construction by classification and grading, comprehensively implement the "Artificial Intelligence + Coal" action, carry out pilot applications for intelligent technology upgrades in different tracks, promote iterative upgrades of coal mine intelligence, and enhance the effectiveness of routine operation of intelligent coal mines. Implement major science and technology projects and key R&D plans in the coal sector, concentrate efforts to tackle key technologies and equipment such as coal-rock identification, deep safe mining, and auxiliary operation robots, accelerate the transformation and application of major scientific and technological achievements relying on the energy first-of-a-kind (set) platform, and promote integrated innovation across the industry chain. Strengthen standardization management in the coal industry, improve and perfect the coal industry standard system, accelerate the formulation and revision of key standards, and enhance the standardization level of industrial development.
Anchoring the goals and tasks of carbon peaking, advance the clean and efficient utilization of coal to a high level. Achieving carbon peaking, the energy industry is the main battlefield, and clean and efficient coal utilization is an important pathway. It is necessary to strengthen the management of clean and efficient utilization throughout the entire process of coal mining, processing, and utilization, and promote the deepening and solidification of ecological civilization construction in the coal sector. Strengthen environmental impact assessment management for mining area master plans, strictly control the environmental aspects of coal mine project construction, and promote the coordination between coal resource development and ecological environmental protection. Deeply implement the action plan for clean and efficient coal utilization, study and revise the commodity coal quality management measures, and improve the level of customized washing and processing. Promote the expansion and efficiency improvement of coalbed methane industrial bases, deepen the co-mining of coal and coalbed methane (coal mine gas), strengthen the resource utilization of gas, and steadily advance methane emission control in the coal industry. Actively promote the integrated development of coal and new energy, support resource-depleted mining areas and coal mining subsidence areas in actively developing photovoltaic and wind power industries, innovate green energy development and utilization methods in mining areas, enhance the momentum for green development in coal, and provide strong support for accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.
