China's energy intensity dropped 2.89 percent in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported Tuesday.

The decrease compared with 2.62 percent a year earlier.

The NBS said the calculation, which reflects how much energy is used to produce a unit of gross domestic product (GDP), was based on a 3.04-percent increase in energy consumption and the 6.1-percent GDP expansion in the first quarter.

"The latest figure shows the central government's efforts to stimulate economic growth and reduce energy consumption are taking effect," said an NBS official.

Experts attributed the decrease to "a positive change in the country's economic structure." In the first quarter, the proportion of tertiary industry in GDP was up 1.6 percentage points while that of secondary industry dropped 1.9 percentage points.

The increase in output of energy-intensive industries declined 12.5 percentage points from a year earlier.

Energy intensity in large-scale industries fell, with the steel industry down 7.51 percent, nonferrous metals 16.58 percent and power production 10.17 percent.