China's increasingly strict environmental protection measures are forcing a change in its economic development model, even though some are worried about a possible negative impact to the economy.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the government has been on a campaign of strict law-enforcement against pollution. And since 2016, there have been four rounds of environmental inspections nationwide to monitor production and deal with pollution problems.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) sent eight inspection teams to the provinces and regions of Jilin, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hainan, Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang as part of the fourth round of environmental inspections from August 15-24.

Starting in February, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly announced that the evaluation of officials will focus more on environmental protection results rather than mere GDP data, and have shifted China's development model to pay more attention to the environment.
However, instead of tackling emissions, some local officials just close down factories for good.

Bie Tao, Director General of the Department of Policies and Laws of the MEP, said that "the MEP opposes some local governments' behavior of nonfeasance and indulgence on pollution, but also opposes the reckless law-enforcement to simply shut down polluting companies," Xinhua reported.

The government should show zero tolerance toward polluting factories and companies, but this does not mean a blanket policy of ruthless shut downs, because this will harm the companies and the economy, Tao said. Instead, the government should help polluters to improve their systems, he said.

"Environmental protection can also bring new opportunities for economic growth," Ma noted.

Source from:http://english.sepa.gov.cn