Countries that have made progress in economic development in the world such as China, the United States and India are said to be contributing a large part to the carbon emissions that lead to global warming. 

Environmental protection is a global campaign, and China has taken intensive measures in this direction in the past decade, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. 

China designated 12 March as the National Tree Planting Day in 1979, and Chinese citizens voluntarily planted about 78.1 billion trees across the country between 1982 and 2021, according to official data. 

On the World Environment Day in June this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised the issue of environmental protection, saying that it is the basis of people's survival and the development. 

He also expressed the hopes that all of society can take the initiative to act as role models in disseminating and practicing the ideas of ecological civilization and through solid and hard work, create a beautiful homeland with blue skies, green lands, and clean waters for generations to come. 

Latest data show that China ranks first in the world in the area of planted forests and forest growth, contributing a quarter of the new forest area in the world in the past decade. 

The secret to China’s success is its extensive environmental conservation campaign, including preserving existing ecosystems, adding new forests, grasslands, and wetlands, and combating desertification. 

According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the accumulated afforestation area reached 64 million hectares in the past 10 years, while 11 million hectares of grasslands were improved and more than 800,000 hectares of wetlands were added or restored. 

Among the things that may surprise many visitors is the way the grass, flowers, and trees are cared for with passion and knowledge in different cities, and where necessary, trees are treated with injections. 

In addition, many trees are protected from being damaged by human activities and their growth is monitored to ensure that they have the appearance they should. 

Grass and flowers have been planted under elevated roads and bridges in cities. On a walk with my friend from Africa in the city of Weihai, Shandong Province, we were surprised to see red roses planted on the side of the road. 

People who visited this country in the past say that it was normal to see heavy smoke in big cities and the air was not good, but now you can see clear skies and breathe clear air in cities across China. 

China’s efforts to expand its forest area and improve forest quality have contributed to the country's goal to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Some polluting factories have been closed and others have been moved outside the cities.  

China is expected to continue to create a friendly environment for green development in the world, increase the area of forests to 26 percent by 2035 and become a leading country in forests by 2050. 

To emphasise environmental issues, China established the Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, which is responsible for setting standards to control emissions and conducting research to offer solutions to environmental problems. 

Likewise, China has put in place policies to promote the switch to electric vehicles in both public and private transport. Fuel-powered vehicles in China are decreasing every day while the share of renewable energy ones is increasing. 

The author is a business reporter of Mwananchi Communications Ltd. in Tanzania