China afforestation highest in the world: Director

Remarkable achievements have been seen in China's land greening, especially in recent years, according to Director Zhang Jianlong of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. He made the comment on Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual legislative session in Beijing.

Zhang Jianlong, director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, is interviewed before the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 12, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Yin Gang]

Zhang said a large number of statistics proves that the acreage of afforestation and greenbelt in China has increased a lot, which has been praised by the people all over the world. According to Zhang, China has the greatest artificial afforestation area in the world, with more than 780,000 square kilometers (nearly 200 million acres) planted.

The aerial photo shows the scenic area in Nanjing Zhongshan Mausoleum. [File Photo: IC]

A set of data released by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) also shows that more than a quarter of the increase of the world's greenspace comes from China, Zhang said.

Zhang added that despite China also being at the forefront in controlling desertification, it is still a country lacking forests and green lands, and with a vulnerable ecological system. He said only through people's common efforts can China's forests quality be improved effectively.