US President vows to ramp up coal-based power generation to counter Beijing

US President Donald Trump said he would look to counter China's economic advantage from coal-based electricity by authorizing his administration to ramp up production of power from the fossil fuel.

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"I am authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL," he wrote in a social media post.

It was not clear what he was referring to or how his social media decree would affect US policy.

He has already signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency and directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to boost fossil fuel production and distribution.

Coal accounts for about 15 percent of power generation in the US, down from more than 50 percent in 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The decline of coal-based power in the US has been stoked by competition from renewable alternatives and cheap natural gas, in addition to federal regulations that have raised its operational costs.