Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a united effort to build a Beautiful China, while making the country even greener through afforestation efforts. President Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the comments at a voluntary tree planting activity in Beijing on Thursday. Huang Yue has the story.
As spring brings warmer days to the Chinese capital Beijing, President Xi Jinping, along with other top leaders, visited a greenbelt along Beijing's Yongding River for this year's tree planting activity on Thursday morning. At the site, President Xi waved to the crowd, then picked up a shovel to help plant saplings for multiple species of trees. He also asked children about their school meals, daily activities and exercise routines, encouraging them to stay active and participate in outdoor activities.
WANG NANBIXUAN, Fifth Grade Student "He asked us some questions, like how's the food at school? What do we usually do during our 15-minute break? What kind of activities does the school organize? I told him that we usually have four dishes and a soup. Then Grandpa Xi started sharing that when he was a child, nutrition wasn't as good as it is now. He said that while we have plenty of nutrition today, what we lack is enough exercise."
CHANG YUYANG, Fifth Grade Student "Usually, our classes take place inside the school. But this time, it was an outdoor experience—we left school, took a bus, and came here to plant trees. And when we got here, we were surprised to find out that our 'teacher' for this special lesson was actually Grandpa Xi. We were all so excited."
LYU SHUOCHEN, Fifth Grade Student "After planting trees with Grandpa Xi, I feel like he's such a kind and approachable person. He is just like a grandparent in the family. In the future, I want to be like the trees we planted today, rooting deeply in the soil, absorbing nutrients, and growing into a strong, towering tree. I hope to become a pillar of our country one day."
President Xi highlighted the country's progress in afforestation, noting achievements such as the Taklimakan Desert's expanding greenbelt in Xinjiang, and the revival of the Horqin sandy land in Inner Mongolia. But he also underscored the challenges. He said China still faces a shortage of forest and grassland resources, calling for more efforts in forest management and improving the ecological quality of grasslands. He added that reform-driven measures are needed to vitalize the forestry and grassland industries, creating more job opportunities and income streams tied to these natural resources.
HUANG YUE, Beijing "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets - This is a notion raised by President Xi Jinping, and has become a guiding principle in China's ecological conservation endeavors. As of last year, China planted over 4 million hectares of forests, bringing the national forest coverage rate to surpass 25 percent. But the country has a more ambitious goal - 70 billion trees by 2030. Whether it's a single sapling or an entire forest, every tree counts to create a greener Earth. Huang Yue, CGTN, Beijing."
