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May 25, 2013

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Xi pledges not to sacrifice environment for economy

CHINA will not sacrifice the environment for temporary economic growth, President Xi Jinping said yesterday.

It will have to carefully balance economic development and environmental protection, Xi said at a study session with members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee.

"We have to understand that to protect the environment is to preserve our productivity and to improve the environment is to develop our productivity. Such concepts should be deeply rooted," Xi said.

China will promote a green, sustainable and low-carbon development pattern, he said.

"We should be fully aware of the urgency and difficulty of protecting the environment and reducing pollution as well as the significance and necessity of improving the environment," he said. "We should take the responsibility for the sake of our people and our children."

Xi vowed to set an ecological "red line" amid the country's rapid urbanization in order to protect the environment.

China should accelerate the implementation of a functional zoning strategy, said Xi.

The government should set and strictly observe an ecological "red line" which requires all regions to optimize, prioritize, restrict or prohibit their industrial development according to their defined nature, he said.

The concept of the ecological "red line" should be firmly established, Xi said, adding that more space should be provided for nature to restore itself.

"On issues of ecological and environmental protection, [people] should not cross the [red] line or they will get punished," he said.

The functional zoning strategy should be carried out to advance urbanization, agricultural development and ecological security in a scientific and balanced way, he added.

The Chinese president called for comprehensive efforts to prevent and curb pollution, urging focus on areas surrounding rivers and lakes as well as major air-polluting industries.

"A sound eco-environment is the basic foundation for the sustainable development of humans and society ... our environmental protection and rehabilitation efforts should focus on solving obvious issues that harm people's health," Xi said.

The president also called for a responsibility-pursuing mechanism targeting those behind irresponsible decision-making that led to severe environmental consequences.



 

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