China is the world's largest coal producer and consumer. In 2005, the country's output reached 2.1 billion tones, representing 40% of the world's total production. China has increased its coal production in the last 10 years by 959 million tones, almost equivalent to the world's collective growth. China's coal sector is operating in a healthy trend, with stable rises in prices and the industry is overall profitable, with notable improvement in productivity.

China's pool of resources is signified as “rich in coal, lack of oil, with scarce gas”. Coal has in the last 50 years represented the country' primary energy consumption. It is recognized that coal will, in principal, remain China's core energy source in the future, many years to come. It is known that the total coal reserve is more than 1,000 billion tones, of which, only 189 billion tones can be used directly.

China's coal industry is now another step further opening up, with increased international exchange. The sector has achieved enhanced modernization by integrating technology and trading, expanding the scale of utilizing foreign investment, importing advanced technologies, equipment and know-how. China's coal sector attracted, between 1998 and 2002, foreign investment worth 5.7 billion yuan, and imported tremendous amount of advanced equipment. Foreign investment is indeed moving into China's coal sector, while the nation's entities from other industries such as power generating companies and steel-making companies have participated in the business of coal mining; major coal companies at this point are exploring and building new mines.

The machinery-manufacturing sector provides the fundamentals and support to sustain a healthy development of the coal industry. Chinese policies encourage coal machinery manufacturers to ride on the global relocation of manufacturing base, seizing the opportunities when foreign manufacturers entering into the market. International players enter the market with advanced technology, which in turn enhances the country's coal development. China focuses on importing technology while bringing in top-notch equipment, and throughout the course, strives to turn this knowledge into its own to promote its self-reliant innovations, which accelerates its move to raise its own manufacturing standards. This initiative provides the coal sector with advanced, reliable, and a complete set of equipment.

China's coal sector should progress with these objectives: a more reasonable system for the sector, a stronger industry with a more sustainable developing capability, a proper growth of production, an improved economic structure, producing large and medium scale machinery with international standards, a better safety record, creating an industry for coal processing and multiple use for coal.