Emissions goal should vary by city, expert says

Chinese authorities should tailor-make air quality goals for different cities based on their natural meteorological conditions instead of ranking them by a unified standard, Zhang Xingying, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed during the ongoing two sessions.

The national standard is harder to meet for any city that has a lower capacity to purify its air due to factors such as geography and climate, said Zhang, also a senior researcher at the National Satellite Meteorological Center. To meet the goal, these cities may have to cut their emissions and production, thus hindering economic growth, he said.

"The current policy aims to guarantee overall environmental equity, under which everyone across the country enjoys good air quality at nearly the same standard. However, it affects equity, economically speaking," he said.