He also called for greater efforts to improve the living environment, develop the green economy and step up the management and protection of forests.

Environmental protection has long been a priority for Xi, who has called on several occasions for efforts to protect the natural environment "the way we protect our eyes", and cherish it "as we cherish our own lives".

China has set a goal of making itself a developed country in the forest sector by the middle of this century in a guideline on promoting the greening of the homeland issued in November. The country also aims to increase its percentage of forest cover from 21.7 percent in 2018 to about 23 percent in 2020, and 26 percent in 2035.