China reiterated Wednesday it remains the world's second largest energy consumer, as its energy consumption last year was still more than 200 million tonnes of standard oil equivalent below that of the United States.

The joint statement by the National Energy Administration and the National Bureau of Statistics of China came three weeks after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said China replaced the United States last year to become the world's largest energy consumer.

China's energy consumption was 2.146 billion tonnes of oil equivalent last year, compared with the 2.382 billion tonnes the U.S. Energy Information Administration says the U.S. consumed last year, the statement said.

"The energy consumption per capita in China last year was just one fifth of that of the United States," the statement stressed, adding that China's energy consumption keeps growing amid the nation's rapid industrialization and urbanization.

To reduce its dependence on energy to fuel economic growth, the Chinese government has taken a series of energy conservation and emission reduction measures, including shutting obsolete factories.

"China's total energy consumption growth has slowed year by year," the statement said.

According to the IEA, China consumed the equivalent of 2.252 billion tonnes of oil in 2009, 0.4 percent more than the 2.17 billion tonnes the United States consumed.