China has achieved substantial progress in ecological and environmental protection during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), demonstrating measurable improvements in areas including afforestation and pollution control, said Zheng Shanjie, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), during a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
At the press conference on the country's high-quality fulfillment of targets set for the five-year period, Zheng highlighted four key areas of environmental advancement.
"Green development has become the defining hallmark of contemporary China, with the five-year progress most evident in four key areas: afforestation, pollution control, clean energy use, and recycling," he said.
"China leads global afforestation efforts, with forest coverage exceeding 25 percent - an area increase equivalent to Shaanxi Province's territory, accounting for 25 percent of the world's new vegetation growth," Zheng announced.
The official highlighted dramatic improvements in pollution control, noting that the percentage of days with excellent or good air quality has stabilized at about 87 percent, a 3-percentage-point increase over the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).
In addition, "Both the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China's 'mother rivers', now consistently meet Class II water quality standards throughout their main channels, which is a tremendous accomplishment," Zheng said.
Regarding energy transformation and the circular economy, Zheng said that "The energy use is now greener. Installed capacity of new energy power generation has surpassed coal power for the first time, establishing the world's largest environmentally clean power supply system. Today, more than one out of every three kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed in China comes from renewable sources, with this share projected to grow. The circular economy achieved fast growth. Annual steel production now incorporates nearly 20 percent of recycled scrap metal, yielding substantial energy conservation and carbon emission reductions."
China makes great achievements in environmental protection in 2021-20025 period
