The article title buries the lede.

Even so, coal use is still rising in absolute terms. Output from thermal power plants increased in the first half as electricity demand grew, partly driven by high-tech manufacturing, electric-vehicle charging and data centers. Coal’s share fell as cleaner sources expanded even faster.

China is still using more coal, creating more gaseous carbon, and building new coal-fired power plants than ever before.

They've always had trouble transferring power from their mega solar projects in Tibet to their coastal population centers. Upgrading their grid was never a priority, and a large percentage of their solar output went to waste.

The implication from these numbers is that they've built AI datacenters near the solar megaprojects that are putting that unused solar energy to use, in addition to increasing China's fossil energy use. This is a classic case of Jevons-y solar energy production creating more environmental devastation while being falsely touted as a green victory.