Beijing, China - April 25, 2018 (CCTV- No access Chinese mainland)
1. Second session of 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in progress
2. Various of legislators
3. Li Ganjie (R), minister of ecology and environment, at meeting
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"The air quality in heavily polluted areas continued to improve, although pollution in certain places remained severe. The density of PM 2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the Yangtze River Delta fell 9.9 and 4.3 percent respectively, while the figure in the Pearl River Delta was up to the national standard for three consecutive years. Beijing's improvement was more obvious. However, the number of days with good air quality in Hebei, Shanxi, Tianjin, Henan and Shandong provinces still fell short of 60 percent of the year. The Fenhe River and Weihe River plains saw fewer and fewer days with good air quality with each passing year, and efforts for pollution control should be intensified."
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5. Screen showing reviewing State Council's report on environment conditions and environmental protection in 2017
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6. Various of Li speaking
7. Attendees
8. Various of meeting in progress

FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of blue skies

FILE: Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, northwest China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of residents wearing protective masks in haze; traffic
11. Cityscape

China's overall air quality improved in 2017, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, according to a report on environment to the country's top legislature.

At the second session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) convened Wednesday morning in Beijing, legislators heard the report on the environment conditions and environmental protection in 2017 submitted by the State Council.

The density of major air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) 2.5, PM 10 and sulfur dioxide apparently came down nationwide in 2017, with 12 more cities reaching the national standard of acceptable air quality.

The first two months of 2017 saw the density of PM 2.5 going up 12.7 percent year on year. With timely effective measures, the situation was changed and the average density of PM 2.5 throughout the year dropped 6.5 percent year on year.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region witnessed the especially apparent change. As the PM 2.5 density in the region soared up 48 percent year on year in January and February of 2017, it went down 9.9 percent throughout the year. The rate from October to December was 39.3 percent lower year on year.

"The air quality in heavily polluted areas continued to improve, although pollution in certain places remained severe. The density of PM 2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the Yangtze River Delta fell 9.9 and 4.3 percent respectively, while the figure in the Pearl River Delta was up to the national standard for three consecutive years. Beijing's improvement was more obvious. However, the number of days with good air quality in Hebei, Shanxi, Tianjin, Henan and Shandong still fell short of 60 percent of the year. The Fenhe River and Weihe River plains saw fewer and fewer days with good air quality with each passing year, and efforts for pollution control should be intensified," said Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment.

The report also pointed out that with the density of particulate matters going down year by year, the problem of exceeded ozone concentration has emerged. The overall ozone concentration in China rose up 8 percent year on year in 2017, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and Fenhe River and Weihe River plains witnessing bigger margin of rise. It will be a key issue to address in the next step, the report said.