Chen Wenjun:

Thank you, Mr. Li. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the media outlet you represent before raising questions.

CCTV:

The river-chief and lake-chief system was fully established by the end of 2018. It has been almost four years since then. What specific work has the MWR done during this period and what achievements have been made? Thank you. 

Li Guoying:

The river-chief and lake-chief system is a major reform planned, deployed and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping personally. It is a major institutional innovation formally approved by the CPC Central Committee. In October 2016, guidelines on appointing local government heads as river chiefs across the nation to clean up and protect its water resources were rolled out by the general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. In December 2017, guidelines for establishing a lake chief system were released by the general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. This innovative system is based on upholding the people's fundamental interests and aims to resolve floods, problems of the water ecosystem, water environment and water resources, which are of the utmost and immediate concern to the people. Therefore, the establishment and implementation of the system have won extensive support and positive response from Party committees and governments at all levels and people from all sectors of society. Since establishing and implementing the system, tangible progress has been made in at least three aspects. 

First, a management system of water conservancy governance has been continuously improved. At the national level, we established and improved the inter-departmental joint meeting mechanism for the river-chief and lake-chief system. Leading officials from the State Council serve as conveners, and 18 member units act closely to strengthen the coordination, organization and leadership of promoting the river-chief and lake-chief system nationwide. In terms of basins, seven basin institutions, including the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Haihe River, the Pearl River, the Liaohe River and the Taihu Lake basin institutions, have established their own provincial inter-departmental joint meeting mechanisms for the river-chief and lake-chief system. Their offices are located in their management institutions, which aim to strengthen coordination between basins and form a joint prevention, joint control and joint treatment working mechanism for coordinating upstream and downstream, left bank and right bank, and mainstream and tributary. In terms of areas, river-chief and lake-chief offices at the provincial, prefectural, or county levels are established to form a coordinated joint working mechanism for the related department within their jurisdictions and pool a powerful joint force for the protection and governance of rivers and lakes. 

Second, a responsibility system has been fully established. It is a responsibility system for river and lake protection and governance, with leading Party and government officials taking responsibility at the core. Up to now, leading Party and government officials from 31 provinces, centrally administered municipalities and autonomous regions, have served as river and lake chiefs at the provincial level. There are more than 300,000 river and lake chiefs at the provincial, city, county, and township levels and more than 900,000 at the village level, including river patrol staff and river protection staff. Therefore, each river and each lake are managed well and under protection. 

Third, the conditions of rivers and lakes have been continuously improved. All localities give full play to the advantages of the river-chief and lake-chief system and take an active role. Facing acute problems related to floods, water resources, the water ecosystem and the water environment, we work in light of actual conditions and take targeted measures to deal with the chaos of rivers and lakes. We manage the space of rivers and lakes according to law, protect water resources strictly, quicken our steps to restore the water ecosystem and make great efforts to tackle water pollution. Thanks to these efforts, the conditions of rivers and lakes have changed historically, more and more rivers have been restored, more and more basins have been revitalized and more and more rivers and lakes have become beautiful rivers and lakes that benefit the people. Thank you!

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