BEIJING — China has started a new round of central environmental inspections in six provincial-level regions and two centrally-administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs), said the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on July 16.

Eight teams were dispatched to the six provincial-level areas of Shanghai, Fujian, Hainan, Chongqing, Gansu and Qinghai, as well as the two SOEs — the China Minmetals Corporation and China National Chemical Corporation on July 15, according to the ministry.

As of the night of July 15, the inspection teams had received a total of 809 reports from the masses and would oversee and push the inspected units accountability.

China launched a series of central environmental inspections in 2016 after decades of growth left the country saddled with problems such as smog and contaminated soil.