BEIJING - China has seen a rapid increase in loans extended to clean energy, environmental protection and other green sectors in the first half of this year (H1) as the country puts more emphasis on green development, central bank data showed.

Outstanding green loans in yuan and foreign currencies reached 11.01 trillion yuan ($1.58 trillion) by the end of H1, up 10.8 percent from the beginning of the year, according to the People's Bank of China.

Outstanding loans for green infrastructure projects totaled 5.28 trillion yuan by the end of June, up 11.1 percent from the beginning of the year, the data showed.

Green loans refer to loans issued to institutions or individuals for energy conservation, clean energy and environmental protection, among other fields.