Environmental Protection: President Xi calls for greater environmental protection

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02:16

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China will step its fight against pollution and increase environmental protection. His remarks, at a meeting on environmental protection that concluded Saturday, have been welcomed by local officials and environmentalists. Wang Yuan has more.

"We must speed up the construction of a system of ecological civilization and ensure that the ecology and environment is fundamentally improved by the year 2035, and that our goal of building a beautiful China is basically achieved." That was President Xi speaking at a national conference on evironment protection. His remarks have stirred heated discussions among citizens and officials.

ZHANG GUOQING DIRECTOR, ZHENGDING COUNTY WATER AFFAIRS BUREAU "President Xi pointed out that we need to fight water pollution and ensure people's drinking water is safe."

ZHONG LIANGSHENG BEE FARMER, FUJIAN PROVINCE "President Xi said we need to focus on ecological innovation of industries and build a sustainable agro-ecosystem. We now make more money from beekeeping than from cutting down trees."

REN QIANGJUN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR ANJI COUNTY AGRICULTURAL OFFICE, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE "Clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. That's what president Xi said and what we have been implementing here step by step over the past ten years."

Xi Jinping said at a meeting that while China had made great progress in fighting against pollution, the achievements so far had not yet been fully "consolidated".

HU AN'GANG TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY "Only by the backing of the political advantages of the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC, can we win the war against pollution."

China's latest efforts against pollution began in 2014 in a bid to head off growing public discontent about the damage done to the country's skies, water and soil. It has launched a series of campaigns aimed at curbing industrial pollution, improving environmental law enforcement and boosting emission standards and clean energy use.

ZHU CHENGLIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BUREAU QIXIA DISTRICT, NANJING CITY "As grass-roots officials, we need to devote ourselves to environmental regulation and enforcement."

YUE DONGPING LANZHOU CITIZEN "It is our duty to protect the environment, we need to contribute our fair share to this cause."

China's former Ministry of Environmental Protection warned last month that the battle against smog had reached a "stalemate" and experts have called for more targeted measures to improve air quality.