As coal prices remain lackluster due to sluggish demand, Shanxi took measures to stabilize the local coal market and ease the mounting pressure that coal producers in the province have been feeling since January.

The Shanxi provincial government has introduced 20 measures, including tax and administrative charge cuts, to accelerate the economic transformation and development of its coal industry and maintain sustainable growth, a notice posted on the government's website said.

The short-term measures will be implemented from Aug 1 to Dec 31. Governments at different levels will also suspend the collection of environmental protection fees and industrial transformation development fees from coal mines, and cut coal trading service fees by 50 percent.