Anti-smuggling efforts successful, officials say

A total of 4,959 smuggling cases were investigated last year after the anti-smuggling department of China Customs launched a campaign to crack down on smuggling involving duty-free sales in Hainan province, as well as the trafficking of endangered species, illegal waste, agricultural products and narcotics nationwide.

The General Administration of Customs said on its website Thursday that the products seized had a combined value of 88.61 billion yuan ($12.31 billion).

In addition, the GAC disclosed information about the top 10 anti-smuggling cases of 2023.

Among them, the anti-smuggling bureau of Shanghai Customs handled two cases involving the smuggling of animal products and seized a total of 18,000 items made from gallbladders valued at 50 million yuan.

Targeted measures will protect, restore wetlands

China will comprehensively enhance its efforts to protect and restore wetlands with targeted measures, an official said on Friday, which was World Wetlands Day.

Yuan Jiming, an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said the country will help establish more wetlands of international importance and develop more internationally recognized wetland cities, while also promoting the development of a monitoring and supervision system for national wetland parks.

In recent years, China has continuously strengthened the protection of wetlands, and the country now boasts 56.35 million hectares of the unique ecosystem.

The country has 82 wetlands of international importance, 58 wetlands of national importance, 903 national wetland parks, and 13 internationally recognized wetland cities, Yuan said.

Government looks to give recycling industry a boost

The Chinese government is looking to grow the national recycling industry to boost the consumption of new, green products and promote the sound development of the recycling sector.

According to a notice released by the Ministry of Commerce and eight other central government departments on Thursday, the country is working to achieve a 15 percent increase in the volume of recycled home appliances and furniture by 2025, compared to the volume that was recycled last year.

The circular said that by 2025, a group of cities will be recognized nationally for their efforts to build exemplary systems for the recycling of the items.

Government data shows that last year, there were more than 3 billion home appliances in use in the country, with households across the nation owning a large number of air conditioners, refrigerators and TVs.