China sees electricity expansion since January, energy officials say

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, logged robust expansion from January to March, according to the National Energy Administration.

The power use in the first three months of 2024 climbed 9.8 percent year-on-year to around 2.34 trillion kilowatt-hours, the administration said on Wednesday.

Power consumed by primary and secondary industries went up 9.7 percent and 8 percent year-on-year, respectively, while power used by the tertiary sector soared 14.3 percent year-on-year, it said.

Meanwhile, China's residential power use registered a 12 percent increase from the same period last year, the data revealed.