China, Central Asian nations to turn more deserts into oases

As the world is marking the Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, China has expressed its readiness to deepen cooperation in ecological and environmental protection with Central Asian countries and the rest of the world to jointly create more miracles of turning desert into oasis.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that China and Central Asian countries are working together to address the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea – a collaboration that brings green hope to the "dry tears" of Central Asia.

Desertification is a challenge for both China and the Central Asian countries, Guo said, adding that since the first China-Central Asia Summit in 2023, the two sides have carried out in-depth joint scientific exploration, worked on the improvement of saline-alkali land, and established a demonstration zone of water-saving cotton fields, which were welcomed and highly recognized by local people.

He said tackling the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea is an epitome of China's contribution to the global efforts to combat desertification, and as a signatory of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, China has actively observed the convention, conducted international cooperation in desertification prevention and control in a results-oriented way, and injected driving force into the green development of the Global South.

China has made substantial strides in combating desertification, with more than 24 million hectares of sandified areas turned into green land, and nearly 1.9 million hectares have been put under protection against desertification since 2012.

Official data also showed that from 2000 to 2019, the total amount of wind-eroded soil in the country's major deserts and sandy land has declined by about 40 percent, and China is the first nation to achieve zero growth in land degradation.

For more: Land restoration unlocks green opportunities

(Cover: Desert poplars along the Tarim River, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, October 26, 2024. /VCG)