Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the opening ceremony of Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2021 and delivers a keynote speech in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

GUIYANG -- China attaches great importance to ecological conservation, and its environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround, top legislator Li Zhanshu said on Monday.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks while addressing the opening of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2021 held in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China has made resource conservation and environmental protection a basic state policy and sustainable development a national strategy, Li noted, adding that the country's environmental protection has gone through a historic turnaround with wide-ranging implications.

Reiterating China's pledge to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Li said the country would contribute to coping with global challenges concerning the climate and environment and safeguarding global ecological security.

To deliver on the pledge, Li stressed efforts in enhancing ecological awareness, accelerating green and low-carbon development, stepping up pollution prevention and control, improving the relevant legal system, and promoting international exchange and cooperation.

Foreign leaders including Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa addressed the conference via video link, which is themed "Green and Low-carbon Development, Fostering a Community of Life for Man and Nature."

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the opening ceremony of Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2021 and delivers a keynote speech in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the opening ceremony of Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2021 and delivers a keynote speech in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)