Known as the pilot city of the Two Mountains theory – lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets – Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province has been striving to tap a new way to achieve sustainable and high-quality green development.

"Lishui's ecology is the city's greatest strength, and green development is Lishui's biggest task," said Hu Haifeng, Party secretary of Lishui and a deputy to the National People's Congress, in an interview on May 23.

According to Hu, Lishui is building a modern ecological economic system in an all-round way, and has made some attempts to accelerate high-quality green development. The city has become the first pilot city in China to realize the value of ecological products.

Hu also pointed out that 2020 is the final year of the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) and also the 15th year since the Two Mountains theory was brought up. Currently, Lishui is in a critical period of promoting economic and social development in the post-pandemic period, and fighting against the clock to complete its annual targets.

Lishui is striving to promote the rapid and coordinated growth and conversion efficiency of GDP and GEP (gross ecosystem product), Hu added.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lishui has carried out targeted policies to help local enterprises resume operation and production. In the first quarter of this year, the city's GDP growth ranked third in the province, and the growth of fixed asset investment also ranked third in the province.