Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Beautiful China Pilot Zones Bear Three Major Missions

On January 28th, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held its regular press conference for January. Sun Shouliang, Director of the Comprehensive Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, stated that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are shouldering three major missions as "power sources," "leaders," and "experimental fields" of creating a beautiful China. The first mission is to build a highland of green development, leveraging the role of high-quality development as a "power source." These three regions, with only 6.6% of the country's land area, contribute over 40% of the total economic output, serving as the core engines for China's high-quality development and nurturing new productive forces. The second mission is to promote a transformation in environmental governance, taking on the role of high-level protection "leaders." For example, in the past decade, PM2.5 concentrations in the three regions have respectively decreased by 55.7%, 41.4%, and 36.0%, releasing significant environmental benefits through collaborative governance. The third mission is to radiate and drive with demonstration effects, jointly cultivating the "experimental fields" of building a beautiful China. Currently, the three regions have collectively established 168 demonstration zones for ecological civilization construction and 81 practice and innovation bases for the concept of "green waters and mountains are golden and silver mountains," accounting for 24.9% and 24.5% of the national total respectively. The outstanding examples of beautiful rivers and lakes, and beautiful bays account for 32.6% and 34.9% of the total national cases, respectively, becoming important windows to showcase the achievements of building a beautiful China to the world.