Yangtze belt sees GDP, green growth

China's Yangtze River Economic Belt has over the past decade attained sustained economic growth and strengthened ecological protection, a senior official said on Monday.

The proportion of the river sections with fairly good or better water quality ratings increased from 67 percent in 2015 to 96.5 percent last year, while the region's GDP more than doubled over the same period, Wang Changlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

China uses a five-tier surface water quality system, with Grade I the best. Water quality is considered fairly good if it reaches Grade III, which is sufficient for most aquatic organisms to survive.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt's share of the national economy rose from 42.2 percent to 47.3 percent over the past decade, Wang said.

Monday marked the 10th anniversary of a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which was presided over by President Xi Jinping in Chongqing.

The Yangtze boasts a unique ecosystem, Xi stressed in the meeting held on Jan 5, 2016.

To restore its ecology and environment will be an overwhelming task and no large-scale development would be allowed along the river at present and for a long period to come, the president had underscored.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt covers nine of the 11 provincial-level regions the river flows through, excluding Qinghai province and the Xizang autonomous region. It also includes Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces, which are home to tributaries of the Yangtze.

Over the past decade, as the principle of prioritizing environmental protection and avoiding excessive development has taken root in the belt, the river's ecological features have become more pronounced, Wang said.

He said black and odorous water bodies in prefecture-level cities along the Yangtze have been essentially eliminated following intensified pollution control measures targeting industrial, agricultural and shipping sources.

Wang also highlighted significant improvements in water quality along the Yangtze's mainstream over the past decade.

"The Yangtze's mainstream has been transformed from having sections with Grade V water quality to maintaining Grade II standards throughout its entire course," he said.

Jiang Kaiyong, director of the Yangtze basin fishery supervision and administration office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said biodiversity conservation has made notable progress, particularly after a 10-year fishing ban took effect on Jan 1, 2021.

Monitoring conducted from 2021 to 2024 recorded 344 indigenous fish species in the Yangtze basin, an increase of 36 species compared with the period before the ban, Jiang said.

Despite the recovery, he cautioned that major challenges remain. A total of 99 historically recorded fish species have yet to be detected, and flagship species such as the Chinese sturgeon remain critically endangered. Illegal fishing still occurs occasionally, he said.

Jiang said the ministry will continue working with other government departments and local authorities along the Yangtze to strengthen joint law enforcement and improve biodiversity conservation capacity.

"We will unwaveringly enforce the 10-year fishing ban, leveraging stronger aquatic conservation to support the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt," he said.