2019 to see greater protection for the Yangtze

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06:18

China will speed up environmental protection regulations for the Yangtze River this year as part of the efforts to protect the regional ecology, said Cheng Lifeng, member of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Committee of China's top legislature. The declaration came in response to a question from CGTN's reporter Hou Na.

Cheng said the Yangtze River protection legislation is a priority for National People's Congress's (NPC) legislation this year and the NPC has already made a timetable to write the law.

CGTN reporter Hou Na asks a question at a press conference on legislation work of the NPC during the second session of the 13th NPC in Beijing, March 9, 2019. /CGTN Photo ‍

Cheng made the remarks on Saturday at a press conference during the second session of the 13th NPC currently underway in Beijing.

Cheng said the Yangtze River protection law is proposed by the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Committee.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has been closely following the legislation work, Cheng told reporters.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks at a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt in Wuhan, Hubei Province, April 26, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

President Xi has stressed that it is critical to balance environmental protection and regional economic development and called for all-out efforts to protect the Yangtze River and avoid large-scale construction. The committee is following the instructions, he added.

Cheng also briefed reporters on last year's research projects regarding the law's creation.

He said the committee conducted researches and seminars while collecting advice from local governments, scholars and people from 19 provinces and municipalities including Shanghai, Chongqing, Hubei and Qinghai. Lawmakers also went on field trips along the river in the past year.