China has made huge progress in improving air and water quality as well as protecting wildlife over the past five years, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said when meeting the press in Beijing on Thursday.
"Last year, the national average concentration of PM2.5 continued dropping to 28 micrograms per cubic meter. The proportion of days with good air quality reached 89.3 percent, marking the best record since monitoring began. Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the national PM2.5 concentration dropped by 20 percent in total, while the number of days with heavy pollution decreased by 25 percent. The proportion of surface water bodies of good quality nationwide reached 91.4 percent, exceeding 90 percent for two consecutive years and far surpassing the targets set in the 14th Five-Year Plan," the minister told reporters at the Great Hall of the People after the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's supreme organ of state power.
"The water quality of the Yangtze River's mainstream has remained stable at Grade II for six consecutive years, while the Yellow River has achieved this for four consecutive years. Notably, over the decade since General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the comprehensive protection of the Yangtze River, the proportion of water bodies of good quality in the Yangtze River Basin has increased by 30 percentage points. The population of the Yangtze finless porpoise has increased to 1,426 and the Tibetan antelope population on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau has grown to over 300,000. The majestic sight of thousands of antelopes galloping across the vast plateau has returned," he said.
The "two sessions", or the annual sessions of the NPC, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body, concluded on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively.
China makes remarkable progress in environmental protection: minister
China has made new progress in the high-quality development of its marine economy, with the ocean increasingly serving as a new driver of growth, Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhi'ou said in Beijing on Thursday.
Guan briefed the media on China's new achievements in marine development, utilization and protection in a ministerial interview after the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, in Beijing.
"In 2025, the gross ocean product exceeded 11 trillion yuan (about 1.60 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 7.9 percent of GDP. Industries such as shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment, offshore wind power, and marine fisheries rank among the top in the world. Marine drugs independently developed by China accounted for 28 percent of the global market share, while output value from marine energy and seawater desalination continued to expand. In order to make our ocean more beautiful and better protect the marine environment, we have always been committed to strictly controlling new land reclamation from the sea, with the retention rate of natural coastline exceeding 35 percent. The mangrove area has reached 4.75 million mu (about 316,666.67 hectares), maintaining a continuous growth momentum. We established the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve to strengthen the protection and restoration of important ecosystems such as coral reefs," he said.
Guan said China's blue circle of friends continues to expand. The country has become one of the first signatories to the agreement on marine biodiversity conservation, and has signed blue economy cooperation agreements with more than 50 countries and international organizations, while also conducting joint polar and ocean scientific expeditions with multiple countries.
Those achievements demonstrate not only industrial expansion, but also a stronger emphasis on ecological stewardship and openness to international cooperation, and the next stage will focus on consolidating existing gains while aligning with the goals and tasks set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the minister said.
"On the basis of consolidating the above achievements, we will, in accordance with the goals and tasks set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), accelerate the high-quality development of the marine economy. In practice, we will place greater emphasis on innovation-driven growth by launching and implementing major national science and technology programs to comprehensively enhance deep-sea sensing, exploration and development capabilities. We will pay more attention to efficient coordination by further optimizing the spatial layout of major bays through integrated land-sea planning and building new growth poles. Industrial upgrading will be stepped up by vigorously developing emerging sectors such as deep-sea equipment and the blue medicine bank and fostering new engines of growth," Guan said.
"We will also place more emphasis on harmony between people and the sea, carefully safeguard blue sea and silver beaches, and make cruise travel and sea fishing new trends in cultural tourism consumption. More attention will be paid to win-win cooperation by expanding marine cultural exchanges to build a community with a shared future for the ocean," he said.
China continues to advance high-quality development of marine economy: minister
