President Hu Jintao has urged local officials to make greater
efforts to fight desertification and improve the living conditions
of impoverished people in areas hit by drought.
Hu made the appeals during his inspection tour to Ningxia, a
sandy and dry 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.
He asked local officials to continue with their efforts by
sticking to the environmental improvement goals and contributing to
the construction of a "green wall" in the country's western
regions.
Hu visited families and village clinics in poverty- stricken
Xihaigu, and urged officials there to do their best to accelerate
the development of the area and improve living standards for its
people.
China has 174 million hectares of sandy areas, mostly located in
northern and western regions. They affect the lives of 400 million
people.
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2007)
