BEIJING -- The balance of China's green loans in local and foreign currencies stood at 30.08 trillion yuan (about $4.23 trillion) at the end of 2023, up 36.5 percent year on year, the country's central bank said.

The growth rate was 26.4 percentage points higher than that for all other forms of loans at the end of last year, the People's Bank of China said.

Of the total, 67.3 percent of the green loans were allocated to projects related to reducing carbon emissions.

In terms of use, the balance of green loans for infrastructure upgrading reached 13.09 trillion yuan, up 33.2 percent year on year, while clean energy stood at 7.87 trillion yuan, up 38.5 percent.

To pursue high-quality and green growth, China has announced that it would strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.