A view of the Corner Tower at the Palace Museum in Beijing on Sept 3, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China has announced new targets for tackling air pollution over the next five years, an environmental official said Thursday.

The country vowed to reduce the average PM2.5 density by 10 percent in 337 major cities between 2021 and 2025 compared with that of the previous five years, said Liu Bingjiang, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, at a press conference.

The country vowed to reduce the average PM2.5 density by 10 percent in 337 major cities between 2021 and 2025 compared with that of the previous five years, said Liu Bingjiang, an official with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, at a press conference

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The 337 cities should also reach the new target of enjoying good-quality air for 87.5 percent of the period, Liu said.

Liu said that China has achieved the goals of its three-year action plan released in 2018, with days with good air accounting for 87 percent of 2020 in 337 major cities. Cities that failed to meet the national standards for average PM2.5 density saw the indicator decline by 28.8 percent last year from the 2015 level.

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To further mitigate air pollution, the ministry will prioritize cutting vehicle emissions amid its pollution-control efforts for the next five years, Liu said, stressing measures to lower carbon emissions and control air pollution simultaneously.