BEIJING — China has stepped up efforts to protect its wildlife in recent years and achieved notable progress, the Ministry of Natural Resources said on Oct 29.

The country has established nearly 10,000 nature reserves that cover around 18 percent of its land area and protect 71 percent of the country's key wildlife species, said Guan Zhiou, an official with the ministry, at a press conference in Beijing.

Some wild animals and plants in China witnessed steady population growth, including crested ibis and gibbons.

China has expanded the list of key wild animals under state protection, bringing the total to 980 and eight categories, and that of wild plants to 450 and 40 categories.

Guan said one of the highlights of the country's wildlife protection work was using artificial breeding technology to foster the population growth of more than 100 endangered species.

The captive panda population has reached 667, and several animals that were once extinct in the wild, such as Przewalski's horses and milu deer, have now developed their own wild groups, thanks to artificial breeding.

In addition, the country set up research centers for the protection of endangered species, such as Asian elephants and pangolins.

The official also attributed the progress to tough crackdowns on illegal wildlife trade and the consumption of wild animals.

"We have completely banned illegal wildlife trade," said Guan, adding that the country has urged e-commerce platforms to remove 1.27 million pieces of wildlife trade information and investigated more than 25,000 illegal cases.

China also attaches great importance to international cooperation on wildlife protection as there are 69 giant pandas abroad, Guan said, adding that it has worked together with 18 countries in panda research.