(Yicai Global) July 9 -- China has intensified its efforts to control air pollution, with fresh results.

The central and local governments have implemented new rules regarding over 20 industries such as the production of thermal power, steel, and cement, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the central government's air pollution report. To detect the results, nearly 5,000 air monitoring points have been built, forming a network that covers cities above the prefecture level, that is below a province and above a county in China's administrative and legislative structure. 

China has cut its coal consumption 8 percentage points to 800 million tons in the last five years. The country has also cut more than 170 million tons of its steel production capacity, and that of 230 million tons of cement. Consumption of clean energy was up 6.3 percentage points.

China has completed 700 million kilowatts of coal-fired units with ultra-low emission, making up 71 percent of the total installed capacity. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the surrounding areas have completed coal-to-gas and coal-to-electricity conversion in 4.7 million households.

In terms of traffic, some 20 million vehicles that don't meet emission standards were taken off the roads, and over 1.8 million new energy vehicles were put into use.

China imposed punishment, seizure, production restriction, and administrative detention on 40,000 pollution crimes last year, up 75 percent over 2016.

Editor: Emmi Laine