Explainer: Intensified protection of the environment

Environmental protection has been a crucial topic for China’s Two Sessions, the annual meetings of the country’s top legislators and political advisers. For the past few years, China has pushed forward pollution control and environmental protection, and has already made a good start in the fight against pollution.

Attending a panel discussion with deputies from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the second session of the 13th NPC, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed efforts to maintain strategic resolve in enhancing the building of an ecological civilization.

The president and General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee called for intensified protection of the ecological system, urging people to fight resolutely against pollution.

According to the latest statistics from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in 2018, the average fine particle density (PM2.5), a key indicator of air pollution, dropped 9.3 percent across 338 major Chinese cities when compared with the previous year.

Statistics showed that water quality also improved significantly, with an increase in surface water of relatively good quality and a slight drop in surface water of the poorest quality.

Although the country has secured a strong start, China still faces many difficulties and challenges regarding environmental protection.

The country should explore a new path of high-quality development that prioritizes ecology and highlights green development, Xi said.

Li Ganjie, the country’s Ecology and Environment Minister, explained during the two sessions that in the next stage, China will focus on seven major areas. These are: the control of air pollution, pollution caused by diesel-fueled trucks, protection and restoration of the Yangtze River ecological environment, comprehensive treatment of pollution in the Bohai Sea, cleaning up the water bodies within cities, protection of water sources, and combating pollution in agriculture and rural areas.