CCTV News (News Network): General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, we must consider the long-term interests of the Chinese nation, put the restoration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in an overwhelming position, and jointly grasp great protection and not engage in large-scale development. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, from the state to all parts along the river, we have always adhered to the strategic positioning of ecological priority and green development, promoted the improvement of the ecological environment, and promoted the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. The ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone turning point changes, and historic achievements have been made in economic and social development. Let's take a look at the reporter's front-line research.
In the Nantong section of the Yangtze River, a group of national treasure porpoises have settled here for two consecutive months, and they can be seen almost every day. On the riverbank, large plum blossoms are in full bloom, and spring is full of joy. Going to the riverside to see porpoises and plum blossoms has become the hottest topic at the moment. A few years ago, it was the country's largest open-air sulfur distribution center, with sewage flowing and dust flying everywhere.
"The riverside does not see the river, and the near water is not close to the water", scenes like this, in the past, abounded along the entire Yangtze River. On January 5, 2016, at the symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt held in Chongqing, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to "jointly grasp great protection and not engage in large-scale development" to set rules and draw red lines for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has presided over three forums focusing on the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, from "jointly grasping great protection and not engaging in large-scale development" to emphasizing the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt to promote high-quality economic development, and then to comprehensively promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The general secretary drew up a grand plan for the implementation of the major national strategy of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
"Jointly grasp great protection and not engage in large-scale development." Provinces and cities along the Yangtze River have placed the restoration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in an overwhelming position, and the key waters of the Yangtze River Basin have launched a "ten-year ban on fishing". Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces have established a horizontal ecological compensation mechanism for river basins to jointly protect the ecology of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the middle reaches of Wuhan, Hubei Province, the ecological governance of the Yangtze River will be pushed deep and deep, blocking the flow of urban sewage into the Yangtze River. In the downstream, the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta coordinate governance, share data, and joint prevention and control. The ecological environment of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone a turning point.
On November 12, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to inspect the Yangtze River and praised the vicissitudes and great changes that have taken place on the Yangtze River.
General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "I am particularly impressed by the magnificent Yangtze River here, this time, you see this scenery, in the past also know that these low scattered and polluted places are indeed vicissitudes and great changes." Such a happy life is also built and struggled by your own hands, and I wish you a better life here. ”
General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt should "jointly grasp great protection and not engage in large-scale development", not to do not want large-scale development, but to establish the rules of ecological priority, force industrial transformation and upgrading, and achieve high-quality development.
Protecting in the course of development and developing in the course of protection, the concept of development in various parts along the river has quietly changed. Upstream, Sichuan Tianfu New Area plans 70% of the area as an ecological space, and strictly controls the access of high-energy-consuming and high-polluting enterprises. In the middle reaches, Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces have deeply shared and coordinated development in infrastructure, industrial innovation, and public services. In the downstream, Jiangsu cracked the chemical encirclement of the river and closed down the chemical production enterprises within 1 km of the river. How to transform the advantages of the yangtze river ecological environment into new advantages of green development has become an important topic in many economic development zones along the yangtze river in Jiangsu.
Located in the Linjiang New Area of the Haimen section of the Yangtze River, the industrial park that was once dominated by chemical industry has now become a high-tech industrial park where more than 200 bio-innovative pharmaceutical companies gather, and all kinds of high-tech talents have also flocked to it, which was not dared to think at all before.
Nowadays, the annual output value of this high-tech industrial park has exceeded 10 billion yuan. It can be said that the 11 provinces and cities along the river have achieved protection in development and development in protection. In 2021, the proportion of excellent water quality in the Yangtze River Economic Belt will reach 92.8%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points year-on-year, and green ecological corridors on both sides of the strait will gradually take shape, and the waterfront space along the yangtze river will return to the lives of the masses. At the same time, the total economic output of 11 provinces and cities along the river increased from 45.1% in 2015 to 46.6% in 2021, and the contribution rate to national economic growth increased from 47.7% to 50.5%.
Drink a river of water together, and protect the beauty of the Yangtze River. Walking on both sides of the Yangtze River, we see the tremendous changes that have taken place along the Yangtze River, and what we experience is the profound changes in China's development concept in the new era. A river of clean water and a hundred industries are prosperous, and it is China in the new era, adhering to ecological priority and green development, and embarking on a sustainable development path.