BEIJING, May 26 -- China has initiated the fourth phase of the third round of central environmental protection inspections, the first since a new set of regulations on ecological and environmental protection inspections came into force.

The inspections, approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, will cover five provincial-level regions and three centrally-administered state-owned companies, said the central leading group for the inspection work of ecological and environmental protection on Monday.

Inspection teams will be dispatched to Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Ningxia. The teams will conduct both regional inspections and coordinated inspections of the Yellow River Basin.

They will also inspect China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., China Datang Corporation Ltd., and State Power Investment Corporation Limited.

The inspections will last about one month. During the period, each team will establish dedicated telephone hotlines and postal mailboxes for the public to submit reports and complaints regarding any environmental protection issues related to the inspected entities.