Fragile plateau to get extra protection

BEIJING - China has pledged to promote ecological preservation and environmental protection on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the next two decades.

In line with a plan approved on Wednesday at a meeting of the State Council, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, an area covering the Tibet autonomous region and Qinghai province, as well as parts of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu provinces, is "key to the country's ecological safety".

A statement from the meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao said strengthening environmental protection there will be significant in "maintaining border stability, enhancing ethnic unity and building an affluent society".