China's carbon intensity was cut by about 5 percent in the first half of the year, the largest drop in many years, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Wednesday.

Energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product also dropped 4.2 percent year on year during the period, the premier said in an address to the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2014, also known as Summer Davos forum, being held in the port city of Tianjin in north China.