HOHHOT - China has recorded its lowest ever annual colliery death rate per million tonnes of coal produced.

For every million tonnes churned out this year, there have been less than 0.16 deaths in the industry, said Song Yuanming, deputy director of the the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, Thursday.

The previous best record was 0.25 deaths, set in 2014, according to the administration.

Its analysis followed an official announcement earlier on Thursday that Chinese collieries reported 66 deaths in the first 11 months of 2015, a decline of 68 percent year on year.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, attributed the fall to improved safety as well as the industry cutting production in recognition that it has been oversupplying the market.

Chinese coal mining deaths peaked at about 7,000 in 2002 and dropped to about 900 in 2014.