Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged local officials to make
greater efforts to fight against desertification and improve the
living conditions of impoverished people in drought areas.
Hu made the appeals during his inspection tour to Ningxia, a sandy and drought autonomous region
in northwest China, from Wednesday to Saturday.
"We should strengthen our efforts on desertification prevention
and control by relying on the power of the public and advanced
technology," Hu said.
Hu asked local officials to make continuous efforts by sticking
with environmental improvement goals and contribute to the
construction of a "green wall" in the country's western
regions.
He visited families and village clinics in Xihaigu, a storied poverty-stricken area, urging officials to try
their best to accelerate the development of the area and improve
the livelihood of the people.
China has 174 million hectares of sandy areas that are mostly
located in northern and western regions. These areas affect the
lives of 400 million people and cause losses of 50 billion yuan
(about US$6.5 billion) a year.
(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2007)
