China has been taking the global lead in terms of environmental governance speed and has set an example of sustainable development and green investment for the world, said a former senior United Nations official on Friday.

Erik Solheim, former executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in an exclusive online interview that China's remarkable achievements in ecological environment promotion have set a good example for the world and that the country has also been trying to benefit the global environment through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a grand proposal for common development.

"China has turned itself around on the environment at a higher speed than any other nation in human history, and now pollution has come down in China with speed," Solheim said. "Maybe what China has done in seven years will take three or four decades for Europe and North America. Basically, you can see the skies and the beautiful sun in Beijing, and that sets an example for the world."

"China is by far the most important on green investment. Basically, every value chain for renewables in the world is now totally dominated by China. And the BRI is supposedly an eminent way of bringing these investments to other developing countries, but indeed also to other developed countries. So, China has a big role to play on the investment side," he said.

Solheim also noted that China's tangible practices will surely foster effective mutual benefits to further support its environmental governance.

"Massive tree planting, bringing down pollution, fishing ban in the Yangtze [River], which is a major undertaking, and the greening of the deserts in Inner Mongolia, there are so much to learn from China now for the rest of the world. But of course, the BRI must also be about mutual learning," he said. 

"China can also pick up these from other parts of the world and implement them in China. One of the most inspiring of all slogans is in President Xi's speaking about the beautiful China. And through the creation of the atmosphere, you need to take better care of this fantastically beautiful nation," he said.

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