Archive for ‘Loess Plateau’

29/04/2020

Spotlight: China leads global green development with concrete actions

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) — China has achieved much progress in environmental protection and taken the lead in green development in recent years.

The efforts have exemplified Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal of “working together for a green and better future for all” made a year ago in his speech at the opening ceremony of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing.

In the keynote speech, Xi proposed a five-point initiative on promoting green development, namely pursuing harmony between man and nature, pursuing the prosperity based on green development, fostering a passion for nature-caring lifestyle, pursuing a scientific spirit in ecological governance, and joining hands to tackle environmental challenges.

China’s hard work on environment protection has paid off.

The ecological environment has improved significantly. People are enjoying more days of blue sky, cleaner water, and fertile land.

China has achieved the goal of zero growth of desertified land by 2030 set by the United Nations ahead of time. Besides, forest stock volume increased by 4.56 billion cubic meters compared with that of 2005.

Carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2018 fell by 45.8 percent compared with that of 2005, exceeding the target set for the year.

After more than 30 years of hard work, the seventh largest desert in China, the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, once known as the “sea of death” difficult for birds to fly across, has turned into a green valley.

In January 2020, in a letter in reply to the student representatives of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, the Chinese president mentioned his thoughts about ecological civilization in his youth.

“Over four decades ago, I lived and worked for many years in a small village on the Loess Plateau in western China. Back then, the ecology and environment there was seriously damaged due to over-development and the local people were trapped in poverty as a result,” Xi wrote.

“This experience taught me that man and nature are a community of life and that the damage done to nature will ultimately hurt mankind,” said Xi.

China’s progress and achievements are recognized worldwide.

The ecological civilization and green development advocated by China are actually an endeavor to find a way to balance economic development and environmental protection, said John Cobb, Jr., the founding president of the Institute for Postmodern Development of China and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Noting that the endeavor is a remarkable exploration, he expressed his hope that it will succeed.

China is on the right path in dealing with global climate change and achieving sustainable development, said Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum.

In addition to making efforts at home, China has also rolled out a series of measures to support the global combat against climate change.

In September 2015, ahead of the Paris climate change conference, Xi pledged a 20-billion-yuan (3-billion-U.S. dollars) China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, which was dedicated to help other developing countries combat climate change.

China has also been fulfilling the obligations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and achieved the goal of its intended nationally determined contributions submitted to the secretariat of the Climate Change Convention as scheduled.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his appreciation for China’s important contributions to addressing the climate change and building a green “Belt and Road,” and said he expects China to continue to play a leading role in addressing the climate change and other issues.

“Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” a concept put forward by Xi in 2005 when he visited Yucun Village in southeast China’s Zhejiang Province as the party chief of the province, has become the motto of the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

In March 2020, when Xi returned to Yucun, he said that economic development should not be achieved at the expense of the ecological environment. To protect the ecological environment is to develop the productive forces, he said.

The history of civilizations shows that the rise or fall of a civilization is closely tied to its relationship with nature, Xi said at the International Horticultural Exhibition last year.

Only by joining hands can the humankind advance a global ecological civilization and march towards the bright future of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Source: Xinhua

20/09/2019

Xi Focus: Xi stresses ecological protection and high-quality development of Yellow River

CHINA-HENAN-XI JINPING-SYMPOSIUM-YELLOW RIVER PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chairs and addresses a symposium on the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, Sept. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called for concerted efforts to promote ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while chairing a symposium Wednesday during his inspection tour to Henan Province.

NATIONAL STRATEGY

“The protection of the Yellow River is critical to the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation,” said Xi, adding that it is a major national strategy.

Noting that the peace of the Yellow River is significant to the stability of China, Xi said Chinese people have struggled against the floods and droughts of the Yellow River since ancient times, and the Party and the state have attached great importance to the harnessing and development of the Yellow River after the founding of New China in 1949.

Originating in Qinghai Province, the Yellow River, known as China’s “Mother River” and the cradle of the Chinese civilization, runs through nine provinces and autonomous regions including Shaanxi and Henan before emptying into the Bohai Sea in east China’s Shandong Province.

The river got its name Huanghe in Chinese because of its yellow, muddy water, which appears as it runs through the Loess Plateau in northwest China.

The 5,464-km-long waterway feeds about 12 percent of China’s population, irrigates about 15 percent of arable land, supports 14 percent of national GDP, and supplies water to more than 60 cities.

Xi also pointed out difficulties and problems in protecting the Yellow River, including fragile ecological environment, severe condition of the water resources preservation and development quality that needs to be improved.

SOUL OF CHINESE NATION

Calling for strengthened protection of the ecological environment of the Yellow River basin, Xi said that differences between the upper, middle and lower reaches of the river should be fully considered, given that the Yellow River ecosystem is an organic whole.

Further efforts should be made to ensure the long-term stability of the Yellow River, Xi said, stressing that although the river has not seen major dangers for many years, we should not relax vigilance.

Over the past 2,500 years, the Yellow River has broken its dikes 1,600 times and has made 26 major changes in its course in the lower reaches.

Xi also stressed better use of water resources, with rational planning of the population, urban and industrial development to resolutely curb unreasonable water demand.

When pursuing high-quality development in the region, authorities should actively explore new ways with regional characteristics and participate in the construction of the Belt and Road to promote higher level of opening-up, Xi noted.

Meanwhile, Xi called for preserving, inheriting and carrying forward the Yellow River culture.

“The Yellow River culture, as an important part of the Chinese civilization, is the root and soul of the Chinese nation,” Xi said, calling for telling well the “Yellow River story” to pool spiritual strength for the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

For over 3,000 years, some major dynasties in Chinese history built their capitals in the river basin, making the region the centers of politics, economy and culture in the country.

The Yellow River witnessed the birth of the four era-defining inventions in ancient China — printing techniques, papermaking, gunpowder and the compass, which all emerged in the drainage basin.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee called for efforts to earnestly study and implement the spirit of Xi’s speech and strive to make new progress in the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

Source: Xinhua

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