BEIJING, Dec. 24 -- China has encouraged four of its pillar industries to open their environmental protection facilities to the public in its latest move toward green development, with similar efforts having yielded positive results.

Pei Xiaofei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a Tuesday press conference that the ministry has issued guidelines directing the petrochemicals, power, steel and building materials industries to open their environmental protection facilities to the public, either by permitting public visits or offering live video tours.

The ministry's latest move is expected to do more to stimulate enthusiasm and initiative among the public to protect the environment, and to promote the healthy and orderly development of related industries, Pei said.

Since 2017, the ministry and other relevant authorities have been promoting the opening of four environmental protection facility categories to the public: environmental monitoring, urban wastewater treatment, urban household waste treatment, and hazardous, electrical and electronic waste disposal, Pei said.

So far, 2,101 enterprises have opened their environmental protection facilities to the public, receiving a total of 220 million visits to date, Pei said.