New law will boost Yangtze and safeguard waterways

Legislators are considering ways to improve the shipping capacity of the Yangtze River following a major decline in the extent of the country's waterways.

"In the 1950s, China had more than 180,000 kilometers of inland waterway, but the figure has been reduced to 130,000 kilometers due to ecological damage and construction work," said Tang Guanjun, a National People's Congress deputy and director of the Changjiang River Administration of Navigation Affairs under the Ministry of Transportation.

"For instance, the passages where dams have been built can no longer be used. Waterways deserve careful protection."