China has decided to extend anti-smog measures for a third successive winter in a bid to reduce pollution levels. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in a pollution battle plan for 2019 published today, vowed to speed up the elimination of small coal-fired heating boilers in major regions. <br />''<br />''<br />''The 2019 action plan outlined further steps this year to control coal consumption. The ministry will help draw up new measures aimed at encouraging the use of cleaner-burning replacement fuels and speed up efforts to eliminate small and inefficient coal-fired heating boilers in smog-prone regions. <br />''<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">It will also promote the implementation of ultra-low emission coal-fired power in western regions, and also encourage steel mills to install ultra-low emission technology. The ministry also vowed to crack down harder on the production, import and use of substandard diesel vehicles. China is in the sixth year of a 'war on pollution' aimed at reversing the damage done by more than three decades of breakneck economic growth. </span><br />