While China has set a numerical target to save energy and reduce pollution, some of its high energy-consuming industries overheated in the first quarter, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The output of crude steel rose 22.3 percent in the first quarter, 4.7 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the same period of 2006, while electrolytic aluminum and alumina production soared 36.6 percent and 53.7 percent respectively, according to a report from the country's top economic planner.

Production of iron alloy surged 44.4 percent and that of coke rose 23.7 percent.

NDRC figures also show that exports of these products saw increase by a large margin.

Exports of steel products and steel billet skyrocketed by 120 percent and 98.1 percent respectively. Iron alloy export rose 70 percent and that of coke by about 20 percent.

The NDRC called to better restructure these industries and eliminate backward production facilities.

The NDRC also urged to ban preferential policies to enterprises with high energy consumption by some local governments to attract investment.

The preferential policies should be abolished and those who refuse to cancel the policies should be blacklisted and shamed in the media, said Jia Yinsong, an NDRC official.

The Chinese government has set a target of reducing energy consumption for every 10,000 yuan (1,298 U.S. dollars) of GDP by 20 percent by 2010, while pollutant discharge should drop by 10 percent.

But energy consumption fell only 1.23 percent last year, well short of the annual goal of four percent.

Source: Xinhua