BEIJING, Dec. 17 -- China's production of coal, crude oil and natural gas maintained steady expansion in the first 11 months of the year, official data showed.

Miners in the country churned out 4.24 billion tonnes of coal during the first 11 months, up 2.9 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The country's crude oil output climbed 1.8 percent year on year during the period to 191.25 million tonnes, while its crude oil imports gained 12.1 percent to 515.65 million tonnes.

Production of natural gas rose 6 percent in the first 11 months of the year to 209.6 billion cubic meters, while natural gas imports expanded 8.5 percent to 107.4 million cubic meters, according to the NBS data.