China will undertake development in line with the concept of ecological civilization, all the while shouldering its responsibility of global environmental governance, said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the UN Summit on Biodiversity on Wednesday.

During his speech, the Chinese president called for realizing global economic recovery in the post-pandemic era through green development.

The biodiversity is the foundation as well as the goal and a tool of sustainable development, Xi said.

The summit is part of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) which is being held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Themed "Urgent Action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development," the summit aims to facilitate the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Green development

As the world's second-largest economy, China has been working hard to coordinate economic growth with green development.

Highlighting the close relationship between biodiversity and human wellbeing, Xi said it is important to facilitate a green development mode that balances economic development and ecological conservation.

In recent years, rapid extinction of species around the world, biodiversity deterioration and the degradation of the ecosystem have threatened the survival and development of mankind, he said.

Read More: How China is building a shared future for all lives on Earth

China has been stepping up efforts in biodiversity conservation by making detailed plans, setting up specialized organizations and launching multiple projects aimed at various aspects of biodiversity conservation.

It has evidently managed to make positive changes. For example, satellite data shows that from 2000 to 2017, 25 percent of the newly-added green space in the world was in China, making it the largest contributor to the greening of the global landscape.

Read more: Xi Jinping: China taking vigorous measures to build ecological civilization

Global environmental governance

As a mega-biodiversity country as well as one of the countries with the most threatened biodiversity, China has put biodiversity conservation high on its agenda.

Addressing the summit, Xi called on the global community to have a stronger sense of responsibility and build capacities to tackle environmental challenges. China has incorporated the concept of ecological civilization into its development and taken concrete measures in this regard, he noted.

Moreover, the Chinese president said China will adopt more rigorous policies and measures to actively participate in global environmental governance. The country aims to reach peak carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, he added.

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Xi Jinping: China actively participates in global environment governance

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