China's air and water quality continue to improve in the first half of this year, with the average density of PM2.5 lowering by 2.4 percent year on year, Pei Xiaofei, spokesman for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said on Monday.
"The national average density of PM2.5 stood at 32.1 micrograms per cubic meter, down 2.4 percent year on year. The average density of PM10 remained at the same level as last year, standing at 55 micrograms per cubic meter," Pei said at a press conference in Beijing.
From January to June, the proportion of days with good air quality in Chinese cities at or above the prefecture level had reached 83.8 percent, up one percentage point from the previous year, while 1.5 percent of the days were marked with serious air pollution, remaining at the same level as the past year, he said.
As far as key areas are concerned, the average proportion of days with good air quality in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas in north China increased by 9.9 percentage points year on year.
The proportion of days with good air quality in the Yangtze River Delta region in east China and the Fenhe-Weihe River Plain areas in north China rose by 1.6 percent and 7.1 percent respectively.
"In terms of surface water quality, of the 3,641 national surface water assessment sections, 89 percent were graded Class I to Class III (good quality), a year-on-year increase of 0.2 percent," said the spokesman.
Of all the assessment sections of the main rivers in the country, 90.4 percent were of good quality, up 0.1 percentage point year-on-year, Pei said.
China's air, water quality improves in January-June: spokesman
China closed 2025 with a record of 92 space launches and major breakthroughs were made in manned space launches, deep space exploration and commercial launches, according to the China National Space Administration.
"In 2025, we created a new launch record, sending more than 300 satellites into planned orbits. Both the number of launches and the number of payloads placed in orbit have achieved qualitative leapfrog development," said Zhu Haiyang, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
In 2025, the Shenzhou-20 crew spent 204 days in orbit, setting a new record for the longest single mission duration in the history of China's manned space program. Following the Shenzhou-20, the Shenzhou-21 achieved the fastest rendezvous and docking in the history of the Shenzhou mission in just three hours and a half.
Facing an unexpected technical situation with the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, China immediately activated emergency plans. Within 16 days, a series of maneuvers were accomplished including the launch of the Shenzhou-22 backup vehicle, presenting a "textbook model" for the international space community in effectively responding to unexpected emergencies.
In deep space exploration, the Tianwen-2 probe embarked on its journey for China's first asteroid exploration and sample-return mission in 2025.
Last year also saw intensive launch activities from multiple commercial rocket types, injecting strong momentum into the country's commercial space development.
As China has kicked off the first year of its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), a new blueprint for the country's space program is unfolding. Multiple tests are planned in preparation for future lunar exploration, as Chang'e-7 lunar probe is scheduled to be launched for the lunar south pole to search for evidence of water ice. The industry is also preparing for the maiden flights of several new rocket types, which will include the challenges to test rocket recovery and reusability technologies.
China closes 2025 with record 92 space launches
China closes 2025 with record 92 space launches
