The government will implement targeted measures to develop regional energy sectors based on their different competitive advantages, Premier Li Keqiang said during a state council executive meeting on June 25.

China will push forward construction of coal and modern coal chemical production bases in the western region, hydropower in the southwest and wind power in the north, Li said.

Moreover, except combined heat and power plants, it is prohibited to build any new thermal plants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area, the Yangtze Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, according to the meeting.

Additionally, the government will continue to support industry upgrading in the eastern region while facilitating the transfer of labor intensive businesses to the west.

The shifting of industrial sectors away from the advanced east to landlocked west and central regions, help improve urbanization in central and western regions and enrich less developed areas, allow for employment and growth, and upgrade the Chinese economy, the Premier said.