China is stepping up legislation on prevention of water and soil pollution as "water and soil pollution in some areas in China is very serious", Fu Ying, spokeswoman of the Fifth Session of the 12th National People's Congress, said on Saturday.

At a news conference, Fu also called for public participation in the revision of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, adopted in 2008, and in the formation of Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

In the past several years progress has been made in environmental protection in China, but it still falls far short of public expectations, and air pollution in particular is very serious in parts of China in winter, so persistence is needed, Fu said.

The National People's Congress has conducted inspections on the enforcement of laws in environmental protection for the past four years, and revised the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law and Environmental Protection Law, she said.

Last year the National People's Congress Standing Committee conducted inspections on the enforcement of the revised Environmental Protection Law, and found problems such as lack of supervision in law enforcement and lack of accessory law and regulations, she said.

The committee demanded rectification and will get feedback in April, she said.

The NPC will continue to improve legislation in environmental protection and supervision in implementation of laws, she said.