CCTV:

As we know, 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of the strategy for ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. What progress has Shanxi made in the past five years? What are the future plans? Thank you.

Jin Xiangjun:

Thank you for your questions. I would like to invite Mr. Wu to answer them.

Wu Wei: 

Thank you for your questions. As an important province in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, Shanxi is also a crucial ecological barrier for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is our bounden duty to implement the strategy and effectively conserve and develop the Yellow River Basin. We have always regarded the ecological conservation of the Yellow River Basin as a baseline of high-quality development. We prioritize environmental protection and promote green development, making concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development and boost economic growth. We strengthened ecological and environmental protection, covering all aspects, all links and all regions. We have carried out ecological treatment and restoration of key mountains, rivers, and lakes, and implemented a major project to ensure clear water flows through the Yellow River with an investment of over 100 billion yuan. Additionally, we have sped up the establishment of a modern, green and low-carbon industrial system with distinctive local features. We have also signed a horizontal ecological compensation agreement with Shaanxi province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, making positive progress in the construction of key experimental areas for ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.

By the end of 2023, Shanxi achieved a soil and water conservation rate of 64.58%, ranking first nationwide in the afforestation scale for three consecutive years. In the province, the proportion of Yellow River basin water bodies with good or excellent quality reached 90%, and air quality was good or excellent on 76.4% of the days, ranking second within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas. Accelerated progress is being made in transforming Shanxi into a more beautiful province with bluer skies, greener mountains, and cleaner waters. Notably, Taiyuan city is going all out to build itself into an innovation demonstration zone to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , with the Never Aging Spring in Jinci Temple , which had been dry for almost 30 years, beginning to flow again. Past splendor of a "Picturesque Taiyuan," where charming sunsets can be viewed by the Fenhe River, is being revived.

We understand that a thriving Yellow River will help Shanxi flourish, while a scenic Shanxi enriches the beauty of the Yellow River. We will take a holistic approach and carry forward the spirit of Shanxi's Youyu county, a spirit of desertification control through afforestation efforts , to protect the environment while pursuing development. We will firmly tackle the critical task of harnessing the northernly bend of the Yellow River, focus on comprehensive ecological management in counties along the river's main stream, and develop modern water network systems, including implementing the Guxian water control project . Additionally, we will gradually implement Shanxi's carbon peak action plan, thoroughly promoting energy conservation as well as pollution and carbon reduction in key industries such as steel, coking, and building materials. We will intensify efforts to strengthen ecological shields, stimulate green growth drivers, enhance infrastructure construction, deepen regional cooperation, and protect and manage the Yellow River, thus laying a solid foundation for high-quality development through green development.

Thank you!