BEIJING, Jan. 4,  2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping, China took solid steps to implement greener economic and social development in all aspects and pursue a modernization featuring harmony between man and nature in the first year of the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national socioeconomic development.

The herd of Asian elephants that returned to a suitable habitat amid human escort after more than 110 days of wandering in southwest China's Yunnan Province in much of 2021 was just one example of China's efforts in ecological protection.

"The story of the northward travel and return of a group of elephants in Yunnan Province in southwest China shows the vivid results of our endeavor to protect wild animals. China will continue to advance ecological progress, stay committed to implementing the new development philosophy emphasizing innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, and build a beautiful China," said Xi while delivering a keynote speech via video link at the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) held in Kunming City of Yunnan Province on Oct 12, 2021.

At the summit, Xi called for joint efforts to build a community of all life on the Earth, and a clean and beautiful world for all.

During his inspection tours across China in 2021, Xi made instructions to steer greener economic and social development of the world's second largest economy.

In efforts to tackle climate change, one of the humanity's common challenges, Xi made the solemn commitment that China aims to have carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

In 2021, Xi evaluated the country's energy industry and came up with his prescriptions during his visits to a chemical company in Yulin City of northwestern Shaanxi Province and a drilling platform in the Shengli Oilfield in Dongying City of eastern Shandong Province.

At the annual Central Economic Work Conference in December 2021, Xi urged resolute progress of work on carbon neutrality, which he says is a natural requirement for high-quality development.

China's forest coverage rate reached over 23 percent in 2021, and the energy consumption per unit of the GDP decreased by 2.3 percent year on year in the first nine months.

Link: https://youtu.be/mm64TSpkfZI