TAIYUAN -- Li Hongzhong, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), has urged strengthening ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin and promoting thorough enforcement of the Yellow River Protection Law.

Li, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks as head of an NPC Standing Committee team inspecting the enforcement of the Yellow River Protection Law in North China's Shanxi province from Sunday to Tuesday.

The Yellow River is China's second-largest river, after the Yangtze, and is known as the "mother river." Continuous efforts have been made to protect its ecology in recent years, with the Yellow River Protection Law coming into effect on April 1, 2023.

The inspection team heard a provincial government report on the enforcement of the Yellow River law and conducted field inspections in the cities of Yuncheng and Linfen.

On the enforcement of the Yellow River Protection Law, Li stressed strengthening supervision and law enforcement, and seriously cracking down upon illegal activities.

Efforts should also be made to integrate efforts on ecological protection and restoration, pollution prevention and control, and conservation of water resources in the Yellow River Basin, and strengthen the protection and inheritance of the Yellow River's historical and cultural heritage, Li said.