Environmental protection industry helping to bolster economic growth

China's booming environmental protection industry is playing an increasingly important role in boosting economic growth, as the country increases funding for its ecological endeavors, an official from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Tuesday.

The industry, which accounted for 1.8 percent of China's GDP in 2021, notched up total earnings of 2.18 trillion yuan ($320 billion) over the same period, said Zou Shoumin, head of the ministry's department of science and finance, quoting data from the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry.

"As a strategic emerging industry, the environmental protection industry has been a new source of national economic growth," said Zou, pointing out that the sector's earnings grew by 11.8 percent from 2020 to 2021, which was 3.7 percentage points higher than China's overall GDP growth rate.