The decline of energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product in the first three months was larger than a drop of 2.6 percent recorded in the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

However, total energy consumption increased by 3.0 percent on year in the first quarter, the bureau said in a statement posted on its website.

The Chinese economy rose by 6.1 percent on year in the period despite the global downturn as the 586-billion-dollar stimulus package unveiled in November kicked in.

"(The data) showed the central government's stimulus package to tackle the international financial crisis has maintained growth and helped economic structure adjustment, energy saving and pollution reduction," the statement said.

When China launched its stimulus package, government officials said the money would not be spent on projects demanding a lot of energy.

Another factor was the rising share of the service sector in the overall economy, up 1.6 percentage points in the first quarter, while industry fell 1.9 percentage points.

China has set a goal of reducing average energy consumption by 20 percent from 2006 to 2010. In 2008, average consumption was down 10.1 percent from 2005 levels, government data show.

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