China's environment improves steadily

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China saw its environment steadily improve in 2023, with all the annual targets for environmental indicators achieved, according to an official report.

This progress also met the deadlines set by the country's 14th Five-Year Plan which was formulated in 2021, says the State Council report on environmental conditions and completion of environmental protection targets for the year 2023, which was submitted to the top legislature for review on Tuesday.

The report points out that in 2023, China's air quality maintained a long-term positive trend, with improvements in key areas. The average concentration of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surrounding areas had decreased by 2.3 percent compared to the previous year.

The overall quality of seawater in China's jurisdictional waters remained stable with positive trends last year. National soil environment risks were under basic control, and the worsening trend of soil pollution had been initially curbed, the report states.

The report indicates that in 2023, China's surface water environment quality continued to improve, with significant improvements in key river basins. For the first time, the water quality in the Yellow River basin had improved from good to excellent.

The report also highlights some challenges China faces in terms of its ecological environment, including the persistent characteristics of high energy consumption and high carbon emissions in the industrial structure, as well as a coal-centric energy structure.

The report has set a target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by about 3.9 percent in 2024, and emphasizes the need to strengthen environmental legislation and law enforcement to ensure the achievement of green goals.