China plans tougher goals, beefed-up inspections in war on smog

Li declined to give further details of the new goals as they are still being worked out

China will set more stringent targets for improving the nation’s air quality under a new three-year plan, as Beijing prepares to beef up a nationwide crackdown on polluters in its years-long campaign to clear its notoriously toxic skies.

The new targets for concentrations of small, breathable particles known as PM2.5 will be lower than those in the country’s current five-year plan that was due to end in 2020, environment minister Li Ganjie said at a briefing on the sidelines of the country’s annual Parliament on Saturday.

In January, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said it was drawing up plans