Top Chinese political advisor stresses environmental protection

Top Chinese political advisor Jia Qinglin urged northern China\'s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to strengthen its environmental protection efforts during a recent tour of the city of Erdos. Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People\'s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called on local authorities to increase investments to prevent land desertification and to promote the development of the new energy industry in sandy areas. Jia encouraged local enterprises to get involved in ecological projects as he wrapped up his two-day inspection tour of Erdos Tuesday. During his visit, Jia called on local authorities to boost support for small- and mid-sized enterprises and asked these enterprises to embrace innovation in a bid to raise their competitiveness. Inner Mongolia should work to develop its education and health care sectors so as to enable more farmers and herdsmen to benefit from the region\'s economic development, said Jia, who is also a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Additionally, Jia called for efforts in facilitating the construction of infrastructure projects in areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups and increasing the income of those groups.