China will implement a more exacting environmental protection system in the next five years. [File photo]

China will implement a more exacting environmental protection system in the next five years, according to a communique issued on Thursday after a key meeting of its leaders.

The four-day Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee began on Monday, approving proposals for the country's economic and social development in the 2016-2020 period.

The communique vowed China will rationalize urban layout and agricultural development, and explore clean, safe energy.

It promised more afforestation and other ecological rehabilitation projects in the next five years.