President Xi Jinping has always been an energetic proponent of greening efforts. He has repeatedly stressed that, given the scarcity of China’s forest resources and the vulnerability of its ecological system, afforestation and ecological improvement are vital tasks. Thanks to such major ecological projects as the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, China has become the first country in the world to achieve zero net land degradation. As a result, it has recorded the historic shift from "sand advancing, people retreating" to "greenery advancing, sand retreating".