The average concentration of PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring areas, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fenhe-Weihe areas declined by 11.8 percent, 10.2 percent and 10.8 percent respectively year on year in 2018.

The target of the 2018 campaign against pollution was met way ahead of the deadline.

In 2018, the central environmental protection inspectors inspected cases investigated in 2017 in 20 provinces, imposing fines that totaled nearly 1 billion yuan ($148 million) with more than 8,000 people held accountable.

The key areas under the environmental protection campaign—the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring areas, the Yangtze River Delta and the Fenhe-Weihe areas—are traditionally home to resource-based industries, and also major sources of steel and coal. These industries are gradually moving to other parts of the country. However, as these industries resettle, these new areas should not become polluted. Therefore, it is imperative to think ahead and enhance control.

The pressure in 2019 may be greater than before.

"Just as there is no joke in the army, there is no failure in the fight against pollution," said Liu Bingjiang, head of the Department of Atmospheric Environment, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Guangming Daily on February 11)