May APEC blue remain with us!

But don't be pessimistic. There is reason for optimism.

The efforts taken to ensure Beijing has had clear days and clean air for the APEC Economic Leaders' Week will not be made in vain. They have increased Chinese leaders' and its people's awareness about environmental protection. And they will further consolidate the Chinese leaders' resolve to protect the ecological environment.

In the same speech, Xi told APEC guests that China is making great efforts to deal with environmental pollution, and the magnitude of its efforts is unprece-dented. Xi said that he hopes that Beijing and other parts of the country will have blue sky, green mountains and clean rivers forever.

He means it. He has emphasized time and again on different occasions that economic growth cannot be gauged by gross domestic product only. The transformation of China's economic growth mode also requires that the efficiency of energy consumption must be raised considerably and the discharge of pollutants more effectively curbed, which will also make the country's economic development more sustainable.

In addition, Chinese people's growing awareness about environmental protection will make it a reality that a local government not paying enough attention to environmental protection or providing shelter in one way or another for polluting industries will be at odds with the will of the general public.

Beijing's neighboring Hebei province, the country's largest producer of iron and cement, and as a result its most polluted province, started to tear down polluting iron and steel and cement plants last year, and it will try to meet the target of reducing the emissions of sulfur dioxide by 179,500 tons, nitrogen oxides by 316,900 tons and dust by 7,200 tons by June 2015.

Cities in North China's Shanxi province, which were some of the country's and even the world's most polluted until recently, have taken on a new look by demolishing coking plants and reducing pollution from coal mines, which speaks volumes about what the country can do to reverse its serious environmental pollution.

Calling clear sky APEC blue will not just serve as a satirical reminder of what the government has brought about with the special temporary measures introduced for this gathering of regional leaders. It will also function as a stimulus for the government to make more effective efforts to tackle environmental pollution.

Against such a background, Xi's acknowledgment of the satire and his promise that APEC blue will return and last forever through continued efforts should be the source of optimism for both Beijing and the rest of the country.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. zhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

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