Dazhong Daily:

In our interviews at the community level, we have learned that local governments pay much attention to the building of beautiful rivers and lakes and beautiful bays. I want to ask Mr. Zhai, what are the basic considerations of the MEE about this work? What progress has been made currently? And what will be done next?

Zhai Qing:

Thank you for your questions. Beautiful rivers, lakes, and bays embody and are essential carriers of the Beautiful China Initiative in the water and marine eco-environment field. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to building beautiful rivers, lakes, and bays. Concerning that, important arrangements and clear requirements have been made in the outline for the 14th Five-Year Plan. 

The MEE and other departments have resolutely implemented the major decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee and clarified the plans for the development of beautiful rivers, lakes and bays for some time to come, which mainly includes the following specific aspects.

First, we have upheld a people-oriented approach to environmental protection and prioritized "beauty." We have focused on the increasing needs of the people for a beautiful environment and put forward the goals for the building of beautiful rivers and lakes, that is, "with rivers and water, fish and grass, and harmony between humanity and water" and goals for the building of beautiful bays featuring "clear water and clean beaches, flocks of fishes and seagulls, and harmony between humanity and sea." In setting the targets, we have aimed to make them concise and clear and the basic requirements explicit with the development of about five target systems to give people a concrete understanding and a direct feeling of the results of the building of beautiful rivers, lakes and bays.

Second, we have made sustained efforts and have been committed to thoroughly implementing the blueprint for building beautiful rivers, lakes, and bays. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, concerning building beautiful rivers and lakes, we have mainly focused on the problems in water ecology and the environment around people and guided all localities to prioritize consolidating foundations and addressing inadequacies, and shoring up points of weakness. Concerning the building of beautiful bays, we have divided about 18,000 kilometers of coastlines into 283 bays and made specific and clear governance goals, tasks, and measures for each of the bays. Through our efforts, by 2025, that is, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we aim to build a group of beautiful rivers, lakes and bays with distinctive features. We will make greater efforts to further advance the development in the 15th Five-Year Plan period and the 16th Five-Year Plan period. By 2035, we strive to build all rivers, lakes, and bays with the right conditions into beautiful rivers, lakes, and bays.

Third, we have strengthened the role of models and leading forces and promoted the creation of synergy for development. Last year, we launched the call for localities nationwide to collect the first groups of excellent cases of 18 beautiful rivers and lakes and eight beautiful bays. Local CPC committees and governments had attached great importance to that, with the active participation of all localities and enthusiastic responses and recognition and praise from the public. Many of our news media made a series of reports and extensive coverages about the excellent cases, promoting the creation of synergy for building beautiful rivers, lakes and bays.

Next, we will thoroughly implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and continue to advance the building of beautiful rivers, lakes and bays, making new and greater contributions to building a Beautiful China. Thank you.