Chinese officials have ordered the country's two top coal regions to act immediately to expand their annual production capacity by more than 160 million tons as China battles its worst power crunch and coal shortage in years.
Authorities face prices at record highs and electricity shortages that have prompted power rationing across the country, crippling industrial output and threatening economic growth.
Shanxi, China's biggest coal-producing region, ordered its 98 coal mines to raise their annual output capacity by 55.3 million tons over the remainder of the year, an official from the provincial government confirmed on Friday.
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