The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region cut its energy use per unit of GDP down by 5 percent in 2012, according to newly released statistics from a government press conference on January 18.

Energy consumption across the whole region totaled 45.7 tons of standard coal in 2012, up 5.9 percent year-on-year. However, energy-intensive industries still account for a large proportion of Ningxia’s industrial output — reaching 57 percent in 2012, much higher than the average level in China.