Country aiming to accelerate 'Beautiful China' construction

Environment Minister Huang Runqiu emphasized on Wednesday the importance of public participation in achieving the goal of building a "Beautiful China", pointing to progress the country has made in recent years with improved air and water quality.

Speaking at a World Environment Day event in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Huang described "Beautiful China" as a crucial objective in the nation's pursuit of becoming a modern socialist country.

He highlighted China's adherence to a "new development concept" that prioritizes environmental sustainability and cited achievements such as maintaining high economic growth while keeping energy consumption growth at 3 percent a year. Additionally, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP have decreased significantly.

Huang also noted China's leading role in renewable energy, with installed capacity exceeding coal power generation. Wind, solar, hydropower and biomass all rank first globally in terms of installed capacity.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment released its 2023 state of the environment report during the event. The report highlighted improvements in air quality, with the average PM2.5 concentration in 339 cities below their annual targets. Water quality also improved, with nearly 90 percent of surface water sections classified as excellent.

"Ecological civilization is a collective endeavor in which all people participate and share, and the construction of a 'Beautiful China' cannot be achieved without the joint efforts of the entire society," Huang said.

He announced a joint plan by the ministry and nine other departments to mobilize public participation in the "Beautiful China, I am an Actor" campaign, which aims to engage individuals, communities, enterprises and industrial parks.

Chen Lyujun, deputy director of the Research Center for Ecological Civilization at Tsinghua University, stressed the importance of involving industrial parks. He said such parks house 80 percent of enterprises and contribute significantly to the country's carbon footprint.

Sinopec Group, a major oil refiner, provided a concrete example of corporate participation by a State-owned enterprise. Chen Jun, a representative from Sinopec, detailed its efforts to protect bird habitats within a refinery. The company adjusted pipelines and dismantled facilities to create a safe haven for egrets. The population there has grown from a few dozen to over 1,000 birds, earning Sinopec recognition for corporate biodiversity conservation.