BEIJING — China's lithium-ion battery output surged over 60 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2021 as the country strives to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, official data shows.

The output topped 110 GWh in the period, and the industry's total production value exceeded 240 billion yuan (about $37.1 billion), according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The country's lithium-ion battery exports jumped nearly 70 percent year-on-year to 74.3 billion yuan in the first half, customs data shows.

Product quality and technology saw continuous improvement in the sector, with battery safety receiving increasing attention and protective measures such as temperature measurement, heat insulation, and water cooling applied at a faster pace.

The development of China's photovoltaic power generation also boosted the production of energy-storage lithium batteries. In the January-June period, the output of energy-storage lithium-ion batteries surged 260 percent year-on-year to 15 GWh, the ministry said.