In the first 11 months of last year, the energy consumption per unit of added value of large industrial enterprises with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.15 million) dropped 5.5 percent year-on-year.

In the push for green development, the annual output of crude steel in 2021 was reduced by 32 million tons from the previous year, a drop of 3 percent.

Meanwhile, rapid development was maintained in China's emerging industries in 2021.

Investment in the manufacturing sector went up by 13.5 percent from the previous year, while investment in high-tech manufacturing rose 22.2 percent, indicating an improving investment structure in the manufacturing sector, data from the ministry shows.

The output of the high-tech manufacturing industry went up 18.2 percent year-on-year, while the output of industrial robots climbed 44.9 percent and the output of integrated circuits went up 33.3 percent.