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Recently, the Shanxi Development and Reform Commission together with the Shanxi Coal Industry Department issued the \"Shanxi Province’s 13th Five-Year Plan for the Coal Industry.\" This document represents another significant planning framework related to Shanxi’s coal industry, following the \"Shanxi Province’s 13th Five-Year Plan for Comprehensive Energy Development.\" Based on a comprehensive summary of the development of the coal industry during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, this Plan provides a systematic analysis of the challenges faced by Shanxi Province’s coal industry. It outlines the guiding principles, development goals, strategic layout, and measures to be taken during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Additionally, it presents key data related to the development of Shanxi Province’s coal industry. Data shows that from the founding of the country until the end of 2015, Shanxi Province produced a total of 16.6 billion tons of raw coal, with over 11 billion tons of it being exported to supply coal needs in 28 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) across the country. There are 131 major coal enterprises across the province, along with 38 coal mines that remain in operation independently. There are 4 companies with production capacities of 100 million tons each (Tongmei Group, Jiaomei Group, Jinneng Group, and China National Coal Group Pingshuo Company), 3 companies with a capacity of 50 million tons each (Yangmei Group, Lu’an Group, and Jinnan Coal Group), 10 companies with a capacity of 10 million tons each, and 152 companies with a capacity of less than 10 million tons. By the end of 2015, there were 1.1515 million people employed in the coal industry across the province, while 782,000 people were working in coal mining enterprises in the province. The Plan states that by 2020, there will be no more than 900 coal mines in the province, with a total capacity of 1.32 billion tons per year ； Of this, the coal mining capacity is 1.2 billion tons per year, with a coal production volume of around 1 billion tons. By 2020, the total sales revenue across the industry reached 1.5 trillion yuan, of which 300 billion yuan came from the coal industry and 1.2 trillion yuan from non-coal industries. “During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, in Shanxi Province, the capacity withdrawal rate was not less than 12% after deducting the **designated advanced production capacities. By 2020, through further reduction and restructuring as well as a significant decrease in the number of coal mines, the average output per mine is set to reach 1.8 million tons per year. In addition, Shanxi Province also plans to develop three major coal production bases in northern, central, and eastern Shanxi. In the northern region, efforts will be focused on developing Tongmei Group and China Coal Pingshuo into coal companies with an annual production capacity of 100 million tons each. In the central region, Jiaomei Group will be nurtured to reach a production capacity of 100 million tons per year. In the eastern region, Yangmei Group, Lu’an Group, and Jinmei Group will be pushed to achieve a production capacity of 100 million tons each. It is worth noting that at the end of the Plan, Shanxi Province put forward five policy recommendations, including the suggestion to establish the basic principle of \"reduction and restructuring\" in order to support Shanxi in conducting experiments within the framework of this principle ； It is recommended to **agree that, on the condition that Shanxi completes the overall capacity-reduction targets**, internal adjustments be permitted for coal mines undergoing resource integration and transformation to take on such capacity-reduction tasks ； We earnestly request **strong support for Shanxi Province in the recognition of advanced production capacity** ； Moderately restrict coal imports and support Shanxi in establishing **coal reserve bases ； It is recommended to **develop unified national standards and targets for phasing out such mines; coal mines with a production capacity of less than 300,000 tons should be considered outdated production facilities, and these mines across the country should be shut down in accordance with the law by the end of 2018.**