BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping planted trees in Beijing on Wednesday in the year of his participation in the annual tree planting as a leader, showing how much he appreciates efforts to make the country’s land greener.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said he did so to make his contribution to China’s construction and inspire the whole society, especially young people, to push for ecological progress to make China’s environment even better.
Over the years, Xi has placed ecological cover at the top of the political agenda of the world’s second-largest economy, with an emphasis on reforestation.
Xi’s thinking about ecological civilization guides the country towards a future, with extensive forest cover, the country’s living environment took a step forward, and the economy was placed on a more sustainable path.
Building “the Great Green Wall”
As a country affected by severe soil erosion, desertification and soil salinization, China faces a task in its reforestation work.
“Overall, China’s forest resources are still scarce and its ecological formula remains vulnerable,” Xi said of his participation in a tree-planting activity in Beijing in 2013.
Understanding the key role of a healthy ecological environment in supporting China’s long-term development, Xi is involved in land reclamation and reforestation.
While running in Fujian Province (eastern China), Mr. Xi inspected Changting County, a mountainous region that was once plagued by severe soil erosion, time to bolster soil erosion work.
In 2017, Xi gave orders at the Saihanba Mechanba Mechanized Forest Farm in Hebei Province, the world’s largest synthetic plantation, and praised the “miracle” of reforestation created through workers. He visited the farm rangers 4 years later, urging efforts for the farm’s role as an ecological refuge.
During a 2019 stopover at another forest farm, this time in the northwestern province of Gansu, Xi managed a plow and participated in local sand work.
Building an ecological civilization will have to be a primary task for China as it has become richer and stronger, xi said, calling for a strong “Great Green Wall” to protect the ecological environment.
Thanks to afforestation efforts, 960 million mu (64 million hectares) of trees have been planted in China over the past decade. The country’s forest canopy has now reached 23. 04%, 2. 68 times more than in 2012.
The dominance of desertified land in the country has declined by an annual average of 2,424 square kilometers, indicating a change from the 1990s, when desertified land lasted by 10,400 square kilometers per year.
Green GDP
While attending a tree planting event in 2019, Mr. Xi planted a magnolia in a forest park in Beijing’s Tongzhou district. The site was surrounded by a chemical plant and polluting corporations in the 1990s, but the environment has improved since local government began. relocating the plants in 2018.
“We have noticed a big renovation in the surrounding area here,” said Zhang Hongfeng, a resident.
Many other positions in China have noticed that their living conditions have improved. In Shanghai, the public green area consistent with the capita has grown from just 1. 11 meters in the 1990s to 8. 5 meters.
China wants to supply more quality ecological goods to meet people’s ever-increasing demand for a pleasant environment, as well as create more cultural wealth to meet the ever-increasing desire for a better life, Xi said.
Zhou Yizhe, a national lawmaker in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (northern China), once a lumberjack and now a ranger, as the forest farm he works on has completely abandoned timber production, focusing on environmental protection.
When Xi joined Zhou and other lawmakers in planning issues of national importance at the annual “two sessions” in March 2021, Zhou said more wild animals were coming to the tree farm, and studies showed that the forest and wetland ecosystem there had a source of wealth.
Maintaining an ecological environment is of great value, Mr. Xi once said, emphasizing the concept of a “green GDP. “
Forging a future
China’s afforestation efforts are part of a push for a greener future for the world in the face of demanding global situations such as climate change and environmental degradation.
As a strong supporter of the Paris Agreement, China pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by more than 65% between 2030 and 2005 and increase the volume of its forest inventory by 6 billion cubic meters.
In September 2020, China announced its targets for maximum CO2 emissions until 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality until 2060.
Compared to developed countries, China faces a short period of time to achieve carbon neutrality after its peak CO2 emissions, which will require tireless efforts from other people from all walks of life.
Participating in tree planting, switching to public transport and practicing waste sorting is not unusual among Chinese citizens, who are concerned about reducing their carbon footprint.
To make a greater contribution to achieving China’s cutting-edge and carbon neutrality goals, and safeguard global ecological security, the country deserves to expand its forest area, improve the quality of its forests and build the carbon sink of its ecosystem, he said. Said. Xi.