CCTV:

We've seen visible improvements in the environment over the years, with more blue skies, lush mountains, and lucid waters. Our country is more beautiful. Could you elaborate on the achievements in our efforts to build a beautiful China? What measures will be taken to implement the Beautiful China Initiative laid out in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress?

Zhai Qing:

Thank you for your questions. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his report to the 20th CPC National Congress, we will build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful from 2035 through the middle of this century. He also made major arrangements to promote the Beautiful China Initiative. Building a beautiful China is our grand goal in building a modern socialist country in all respects. It meets people's expectations for a beautiful environment and epitomizes our achievements in ecological conservation.

The report to the 18th CPC National Congress called for hard work to build a beautiful country, and the report to the 19th CPC National Congress said by 2035 "there is a fundamental improvement in the environment; the goal of building a Beautiful China is basically attained." General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches much importance to the building of a beautiful China and has made important instructions on multiple occasions. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, the Party has put ecological conservation in a critical place for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and implemented a series of fundamental, ground-breaking, and long-term initiatives, thus achieving remarkable accomplishments in ecological conservation and green development and making great strides in the building of a beautiful China. Our work has mainly been as follows:

First, we have deepened efforts to prevent and control pollution. We have resolutely declared war against pollution; thoroughly implemented three major action plans for preventing and controlling air, water, and soil pollution, also known as the three "ten-point lists"; strived to win a decisive victory in the campaign to make our skies blue, our water clear, and our lands pollution-free; and solved many major ecological and environmental problems affecting people's livelihoods. The average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at or above prefectural level in 2021 dropped by 34.8% compared with that in 2015. The percentage of days with good air quality was 87.5%. 84.9% of surface water sections monitored by the state showed excellent and good water quality (meeting Grade I to Grade III surface water quality standards), with the proportion of water sections deemed "inferior to Grade V" dropping to 1.2%. We have brought soil pollution risks under effective control, banned "foreign garbage" from entering the country and achieved "zero import" of solid waste. Over the past ten years, we have seen more blue skies, greener water, and cleaner land, constantly improving people's sense of fulfillment, happiness, and ecological security.

Second, we have stepped up efforts to protect and restore ecosystems. We have drawn a "red line" for ecological protection, and established and improved the system for protected areas with national parks as the mainstay. Currently, nature reserves at all levels and of all types account for about 18% of China's land area, including the first batch of five national parks, such as Sanjiangyuan National Park and Giant Panda National Park. We have pursued holistic conservation and systematic management of mountain, river, forest, farmland, lake, grassland and desert ecosystems and carried out major projects to protect biodiversity. The wild populations of more than 300 species of rare and endangered wild animals and plants have been restored and increased. For example, a herd of wild elephants hiked northward for months in Yunnan province; the "smiling angel" Yangtze finless porpoises have been spotted more frequently; the flock of Tibetan antelopes keeps growing; and populations of many species of indigenous fish, such as the Baiyangdian bitterling, have been gradually restored, demonstrating that China has achieved tangible results in biodiversity protection. 

Third, we have taken solid strides in green, low-carbon and circular development. We have given full play to the guiding, optimizing, and driving role of ecological and environmental protection, unremittingly promoted economic structural adjustment, and incorporated peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality into our overall plan of ecological progress and economic and social development so as to facilitate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development through the dual synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Green has gradually become a defining feature of China's high-quality development as the country's carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2021 dropped by 34.4% compared with that in 2012, the share of coal in primary energy consumption dropped from 68.5% in 2012 to 56% in 2021, and both the scale of renewable energy development and utilization and the production and sales of new-energy vehicles ranked first in the world.

Over the last decade, the whole Party and the whole country have become more purposeful and active in building a beautiful China and fully implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee. With the green landscape continuously expanding and the urban and rural environments becoming more livable, beautiful scenery of "harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature" has vividly unfolded.

Looking forward, we will adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, commit to the building of a beautiful China, and make consistent efforts in all areas of this endeavor. By doing so, new progress in improving ecological quality will be made, more comprehensive and green transformation will be expected in economic and social development, and new breakthroughs will be realized for a modern environmental governance system. We will ramp up efforts to build a beautiful China with "lusher mountains, clearer waters and bluer sky". Thank you.

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