Since 2018, Chinese authorities have exempted more than 10 billion yuan in taxes for companies with emission levels below national standards, he said. The country also launched a national carbon trading program last year to tap the potential of market mechanisms in motivating emissions reduction.

China has contributed to global environmental governance not only with its wisdom. Adhering to multilateralism, it has proactively joined hands with other nations and will step up efforts for more multilateral and bilateral environmental and climate cooperation, Zhai said.

There has been significant progress, for example, in making the Belt and Road Initiative greener, he said. The BRI International Green Development Coalition, which China initiated in 2019 to enhance policy dialogue, joint research and capacity building, has now had more than 150 partners from over 40 countries.

Reaching 43 climate agreements with 38 developing nations under the South-South cooperation mechanism, Zhai said China has aided these nations with meteorological satellites, photovoltaic power generation systems and new energy vehicles to help improve their capabilities in tackling climate change.