The trip by rail and sea was about 20 days shorter than if the goods had been sent by sea.

State-owned China Energy Investment Corp is ramping up efforts to dispatch coal from production hubs such as Shaanxi and Gansu provinces to Sichuan province and Chongqing.

The foreign trade value of North China's Hebei province reached 313.46 billion yuan ($46 billion) in the first seven months of this year.

A total of 16 out of 41 major industries saw growth in profits in the January-July period, and 14 of them reported growth of over 5 percent.

The upgrades, targeted to promote clean production and improve efficiency, have brought about both environmental and economic benefits.

The industry has also stepped up efforts ensuring safe mining in recent years, Sun said.

Profits at China's industrial companies fell in the first seven months of this year as the country grapples with pandemic-related disruptions, high temperatures and insufficient domestic demand.

As the world's largest stainless steel producer and consumer, China saw its output rise 1.64 percent year-on-year to over 30.6 million tons in 2021.