Treat environment 'as our lifeline', Xi says

President Xi Jinping said the local government is duty-bound to protect the ecological environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, especially in the Sanjiangyuan area, where the Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong rivers originate.

While joining a panel discussion on Thursday with lawmakers from Qinghai province, where Sanjiangyuan is located, Xi said that protecting the fragile ecology there is of utmost importance.

"The ecological environment has irreplaceable value," Xi told the deputies. "We should treat it as our lifeline and protect it like the apple of our eye."