BEIJING — China's natural gas output inched up year-on-year in the first two months of 2020 amid efforts to fight air pollution, said the country's economic planner.

Apparent consumption of natural gas edged up one percent year-on-year to 52.7 billion cubic meters during the January-February period, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Output of natural gas came in at 30.9 billion cubic meters in the period, an expansion of 6.1 percent from last year, while import dropped 4.1 percent year-on-year to 22.4 billion cubic meters, data from NDRC showed.

China has been promoting efficient, large-scale use of natural gas in sectors including industrial fuel, power generating and transportation.

According to a three-year action plan on air pollution control released in 2018, China will boost the share of natural gas in its total primary energy consumption to 10 percent by 2020.