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October 22, 2021

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Xi: Protecting Yellow River is critical for development

DEEMED China’s “Mother River” and “the cradle of Chinese civilization,” the Yellow River basin has seen remarkable improvements in its ecological environment over the last few years as the Chinese government attaches increasing importance to the conservation of China’s second-longest watercourse.

Hailing the Yellow River’s importance as an ecological barrier, an economic zone and a cultural heritage site in China, Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated efforts to promote its ecological protection and high-quality development.

On Wednesday, President Xi inspected the estuary of the Yellow River in the city of Dongying, east China’s Shandong Province. He visited a dock at the estuary, an ecological monitoring center and a national-level nature reserve of the Yellow River Delta.

“The protection of the Yellow River is critical to the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation,” Xi said. This explains why China has set the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin as a major national strategy.

Starting from Qinghai Province, the Yellow River runs through nine provinces and autonomous regions before emptying itself into the Bohai Sea in Shandong.

As an “ecological corridor,” the Yellow River, linking the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Loess Plateau and plains in northern China with severe water scarcity, plays an important role in improving the ecological environment, combating desertification and providing water supply.

The 5,464-kilometer-long waterway feeds about 12 percent of China’s population, irrigates some 15 percent of the arable land, supports 14 percent of the national GDP, and supplies water to more than 60 cities.

Since the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress, the Chinese president has visited all of the basin’s provinces and autonomous regions, sharing his concerns about China’s “Mother River.” In less than a year from August 2019 to June 2020 alone, he inspected the Yellow River basin four times.

President Xi pointed out difficulties and problems in protecting the Yellow River during his inspection tours, such as the fragile ecological environment, the severe condition of water resources preservation and the need to improve development quality.

According to Xi, the peace of the Yellow River is significant to the stability of China. Although the river has not seen major dangers for many years, Xi has repeatedly told the nation not to relax in its vigilance.

The river’s natural and geological conditions have led to frequent flooding since ancient times.




 

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