China kicks off fresh round of environmental inspections

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced on Monday the launch of a new round of environmental inspections by China's central authorities.

Eight teams, conducting this third batch of the third round of inspections, have been dispatched to the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Sichuan and Guizhou, as well as to four centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs), namely, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical Corporation, Sinochem Holdings Corporation Ltd. and China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation Ltd., according to the ministry.

The inspection teams pointed out the need to promote new progress in the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and for the centrally administered SOEs to establish sound ecological environment protection management and responsibility systems.

It is essential to leverage the demonstration and leading role of these enterprises to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development, and improve the quality of the ecological environment, according to the inspection teams.

The inspections should be carried out in an accurate and scientific manner and in accordance with the law, and rectifications will be made in the meantime, said the ministry.

The inspections will last for one month, it added.

The second batch of the third round of inspections was launched in May this year, covering Shanghai, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and Yunnan.