Photovoltaic solar panels collecting sunlight in Fengxin county, Yi Chun of southeastern China’s Jiangxi province on Oct. 23, 2018. It is Jiangxi’s first solar-aquaculture demonstration project that could save 29,700 tons of standard coal and reduce nearly 100,000 tons of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide per year. (Photo by Shi Yu, Source: People’s Daily online)

China's carbon dioxide emission per 10,000 yuan (nearly $1,500) of GDP declined 4 percent in 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The country’s total area of afforestation reached 7.07 million hectares last year, according to a communique on China’s economic and social development in 2018 published by the NBS on Feb.28.

Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, said governments of various levels adhered to the idea of “clear waters and green mountains are as good as mountains of gold and silver” proposed by President Xi Jinping.

In the past year, the governments constantly enhanced efforts on ecological and environmental governance, increased financial input into environmental protection, promoted the application of advanced technologies on energy-saving and environmental protection, continuously improved the efficiency of resource utilization, promoted coordinated and sustainable development of economy, resources and environment and strived for the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, Sheng said.

As a result, the country achieved the goal of reducing the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan worth of GDP by more than 3 percent. It also managed to cut its carbon dioxide emission per 10,000 yuan worth of GDP by 4 percent.

Chinese people’s “sense of gain” from green development continuously strengthened during the past year, said Chang Jiwen, vice-director-general of the Research Institute for Resources and Environment Policies under the Development Research Center of the State Council of China.

In the previous year, China has gained remarkable achievements in such fields as prevention and treatment of air and water pollution, ecological construction, low-carbon development, and energy conservation and emission reductions, Chang noted.

According to Chang, in recent years, China has started to see certain positive correlation between its national economic indicators and indicators of ecological and environmental protection.

All these facts have indicated that thanks to the arduous efforts China has made in the past years, a benign pattern of green development has so far taken initial shape in China, which enables the country to both continue advancing the quality of its economic development and improve its ecological environment, said Chang.