China releases three action plans to build pilot zones for Beautiful China Initiative

The State Council of China has approved the issuance and implementation of three action plans to construct pilot zones for the Beautiful China Initiative in major areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The action plans, aligned with the requirements for high-quality development, focus on addressing deep-seated contradictions and issues that constrain ecological conservation and environmental protection, said an official of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment at a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

The action plans will provide support for consolidating and enhancing the high-quality development of the three pilot zones, as well as for making new major progress in building a beautiful country, according to the official.

The action plan for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which is an expanded urban agglomeration consisting of the Chinese capital, Tianjin Municipality and the major industrial province Hebei in north China, aims to lead in making breakthroughs in improving ecological and environmental quality, optimizing industrial and energy structures, and exploring innovative regional collaborative governance.

It emphasizes efforts to improve the quality and efficiency to prevent and control air pollution, enhance the capacity to adapt to climate change, and create a demonstration zone for coordinated pollution and carbon emission reduction as well as ecological restoration in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The action plan for east China's Yangtze River Delta region proposes that the region will take the lead in making breakthroughs in developing green productivity and implementing joint protection and coordinated governance of the ecological environment.

It highlights the unification of regional legal standards, zoned control of the ecological environment, and intelligent governance, aiming to establish a model zone in the Yangtze River Delta region where high-level protection drives high-quality development.

The action plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a vibrant city cluster that comprises the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as cities in southern province of Guangdong, suggests that the region should leverage the institutional advantages of "one country, two systems" to make breakthroughs in improvement of ecological and environmental quality, green finance reform and innovation, and deepening of opening-up and cooperation.

The region will fully play its radiating and driving role, and jointly construct a beautiful bay area of integrated innovation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment will work with relevant departments and regions to promote the orderly implementation of the action plans and jointly drive the construction of pilot zones for the Beautiful China Initiative to achieve tangible results, according to the official.

China releases three action plans to build pilot zones for Beautiful China Initiative

China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.

The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.

Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.

Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.

The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.

Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.

"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.

China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth