BEIJING, March 12 -- China stepped up its greening efforts last year with 3.998 million hectares of forest planted, official data showed Tuesday.

The figure was higher than the 3.83 million hectares of afforestation seen in 2022, according to a report of the National Greening Commission. In 2023, the country also restored 4.379 million hectares of degraded grassland and treated 1.905 million hectares of sandy and stony land.

China on Tuesday celebrates its 46th National Tree Planting Day.