China is capable of disposing of COVID-19 medical waste in a timely manner, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said. 

By the end of last year, annual disposal capacity for medical waste stood at 2.15 million metric tons, an increase of 39 percent on 2019, said Ren Yong, director general of the ministry's Department of Solid Waste and Chemical Management, in a news conference on Wednesday.

He added that the country also boasts an annual emergency disposal capacity of 2 million tons.

"Currently, almost 70 percent of areas listed as medium and high risk made use of less than half their daily disposal capacity," he noted. "So we have managed to ensure all their medical waste is disposed the day it is generated."

The ministry has asked local governments to be ready to put their emergency disposal capacity into operation, if necessary. "It can be activated at any time," Ren stressed.