The move would help Beijing deepen its efforts to cut smog and reduce overcapacity in its bloated smoke-stack industries.

In 2011, he withdrew a plan to cut smog, citing a U.S. economy that was recovering too slowly from recession.

Mome Saleem, an Islamabad-based environmentalist, said the closure of the kilns would help cut smog but other industries needed attention too.

The bill would also likely delay the EPA rule introduced in July that would cut smog and soot from coal-fired plants.

Rival South Korean battery makers LG Chem and Samsung SDI started production in China last year, as the country promotes electric vehicles to cut smog.