BEIJING -- China has firmly upheld the red line for farmland protection, gradually establishing an integrated framework for the quantity, quality, and ecological preservation of farmland, Guan Zhiou, minister of natural resources, said on Wednesday.

By the end of 2024, China's total farmland area reached nearly 1.94 billion mu (129.33 million hectares), an increase of 28 million mu compared to 2020, Guan told a press conference.

China has been stepping up efforts to ensure the total area of its farmland does not fall below the red line of 1.8 billion mu.

China's national forest coverage rate has reached 25.09 percent, an increase of approximately 2 percentage points since 2020, making the country the world's fastest and largest contributor to afforestation, Guan said.

Meanwhile, the gross ocean product (GOP) reached 10.5 trillion yuan (about $1.48 trillion), an increase of 2.7 trillion yuan compared to 2020.

In 2024, China's GOP surpassed 10 trillion yuan for the first time, marking a major milestone for its marine economy.