China to focus air pollution battle on key areas

BEIJING — China plans even more measures to help defeat air pollution in regions including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Fenhe-Weihe plain.

Delivering an environmental report to the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and the Environment, said air quality had improved in many regions in 2017 and there would be no let up in work in 2018.

According to the report, China attained most of its environment protection goals in 2017.

The ratio of days with good air quality in 2017 stood at 78 percent, and the density of major pollutants like PM 2.5 and PM 10 dropped significantly, the report reads.

The report also acknowledged that pollution remained bad in several provinces, such as Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong.

The bimonthly session of the top legislature runs till on April 27.