BEIJING, March 12 -- China has made new strides in advancing afforestation in 2022, with the area of newly planted forests totaling 3.83 million hectares, said a report released on Sunday.

The country has also restored 3.21 million hectares of degraded grassland through grass planting in 2022, according to the report from the National Greening Commission.

After decades of afforestation, China has created the world's largest planted forests, with its forest coverage rate more than doubling from 12 percent in the early 1980s to 24.02 percent last year.

The country's grassland vegetation coverage rate rose to 50.32 percent in 2022, according to the report.

Last year, China has also tackled 1.85 million hectares of sandy and stony land through vegetation improvement.

The country's green movement is also part of China's efforts to fulfill its commitment to peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as forests and grasslands are important carbon sinks that absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

China marked the country's 45th National Tree Planting Day on Sunday.