BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has shown firm determination to enhance the ecological protection of its "mother river" and full confidence in facilitating green, sustainable and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The country's top legislature on Saturday adopted a law on Yangtze River conservation, which will take effect on March 1, 2021.

As China's first legislation on a specific river basin, the law is formulated to strengthen the protection and restoration of the ecological environment in the Yangtze River basin, facilitate the effective and rational use of resources, safeguard ecological security, ensure harmony between human and nature and achieve sustainable development.

Stretching over 6,300 km and boasting rich biodiversity and mineral and water resources in its basin, the Yangtze River is seen as an icon of the Chinese nation and a symbol of the Chinese civilization.

The national legislation to protect the Yangtze River reflects a profound change in China's outlook on development. The concepts of prioritizing ecological conservation and boosting green development have taken root over years of Yangtze River protection practices, with achievements further boosting the confidence and determination to continue on this path.

Over the past five years, transitional changes have taken place in the ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which covers nine provinces and two municipalities and accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's population and economic aggregate, while big achievements have been achieved in the area's economic and social development.

In the past five years, a total of 8,091 chemical enterprises have been relocated, transformed or suspended along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Formulating a Yangtze River protection law will make a difference for future generations and the future of the Chinese nation.

The systematic protection and the restoration of the ecological environment along the Yangtze will set a good example for rivers in urgent need of stronger protection.

China, the world's largest developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, has firmly embarked on a journey of green development with the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature.