East China’s Jiangsu province will step up its efforts for the prevention and control of water pollution in the Yangtze River by following the important instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping on the promotion of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the work of Jiangsu. The remark was made by Wu Zhenglong, Governor of Jiangsu, when presiding over a video meeting on Sunday.
Wu Zhenglong pointed out that this year marks the final year for the construction of a well-off society in an all-round way and the 13th five-year plan period.
This year also marks the fifth year of the General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech on the protection of the ecology along the Yangtze River, he added.
The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have resolutely implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech and the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council through the coordinated efforts for the promotion of epidemic prevention and control, and economic and social development, the governor said.
Wu noted that Jiangsu is faced with pollution in the local section of the Yangtze River though improvement has been made in the ecological environment in the past years.
The ecological priority path of green development is still faced with obstacles and difficulties, Wu Zhenglong said, adding that the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease or COVID-19 since February has aggravated the situation and brought unprecedented challenges.
He urged the province to follow the Xi Jinping Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, maintain strategic resolve, turn crisis into opportunity, practice new development concept and promote high quality development so as to get rid of extensive and pollution-intensive development mode.
The Governor asked the regional governments to enhance political stance, stick to problem-oriented approach and make strategic efforts so as to promote the high quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the new development concept and from the political height of strengthening the four consciousnesses and the four self-confidences, safeguarding the authority of the CPC Central Committee and getting united around the centralized and unified leadership the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core.
Wu noted that special programs should be launched to address pollution along the Yangtze River, accelerate the ecological restoration of the shoreline, enhance the urban and rural sewage collection and treatment capacity, and strengthen pollution control of the passing ships and ports and regulate the pollutant discharge outlets.
The Governor called for unswerving measures to promote the transformation and upgrading of the optimized layout of industries along the Yangtze River and promote special programs to address production safety and chemical industry safety so as to improve the quality and sustainability of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
He asked the concerned departments and regional governments to practice the Xi Jinping Thought on ecological civilization, coordinate epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development, forestall and defuse risks and make greater contribution to the new chapter in the construction of a new Jiangsu.
To remediate damage to the Yangtze River, China is turning to a more market-based mechanism for sewage disposal in the Yangtze River Economic Belt that will lead those producing heavier pollution to pay a higher price, according to a recent guideline.
The guideline, published by five central government bodies including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, aims to tap the potential of price leverage to ramp up prevention and control of water pollution in the belt, according to an NDRC news release.
Designed to "incorporate ecological and environmental depletion into the costs of enterprises and households", the guideline will promote production modes and lifestyles consistent with green development, it said.
Under the guideline, instead of charging all emitters the same treatment fees, local governments will be encouraged to adopt differential pricing systems, with charges based on the difficulty of sewage disposal.
The trunk stream of the Yangtze flows almost 6,400 kilometers across 11 provincial regions, including Hubei and Hunan provinces and Shanghai. Its drainage basin covers one-fifth of China's land area and accommodates about a third of its population.
