Beijing’s energy efficiency ranks first across China and the city has made significant achievement in reducing air pollution.

The Chinese capital’s energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP stood at 0.338 ton of coal equivalent in 2015, a reduction of 19.5 percent from 2011 and an annual reduction of 5.3 percent in four years.

According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, the total energy consumption reached 68.526 million tons of coal equivalent in 2015, registering an annual increase of 1.7 percent from 2011. This is 3 percentage points lower than that of the “11th Five-Year Plan period” (2006-2010).

The sharp reduction of industrial energy consumption plays a main role in slashing energy consumption in the entire city. As Beijing keeps shedding its non-capital functions, high energy-consuming industries and manufacturing enterprises have been relocated or closed down. Meanwhile, as Beijing prevents a list of industries from being newly launched, industries that are involved in the list reduce their production, and hence the reduction of their energy consumption.

Additionally, as Beijing implements the “Clean Air Action Plan,” major coal-fired power plants have changed their energy source from coal to gas. The city’s industrial enterprises see their energy consumption decrease by 3.2 percent annually, taking 1.2 percentage points off the city’s annual energy consumption.

President Xi Jinping called on compatriots in Hong Kong on Monday to join hands with the whole nation to “grasp the opportunities of the country’s development” and further implement the one country, two systems principle.

Xi commented while visiting an exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing on achievements since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Concerted efforts are expected in exploration and innovation, with the goal being to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and to ensure a better future there, he said.

Multimedia presentations at the museum featured memorable moments in Hong Kong, including its return, and its reinforced role as an international financial center and rising star in the building of the Belt and Road.

Speaking of the past 20 years, Xi said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with the strong support of the central government and the mainland, has witnessed comprehensive development in a variety of fields and has made achievements recognized by the world.

The great vitality of one country, two systems has been demonstrated, Xi added.

Experience during the two decades has proved that one country, two systems is not only the best solution to the Hong Kong issue, but also the best institutional arrangement for long-term prosperity and stability after the return of Hong Kong, Xi said.

The nation should further implement one country, two systems in an unswerving, all-out and accurate manner, and act in strict accordance with the country’s Constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR to better promote Hong Kong’s development, Xi said.

From Thursday to Sunday, Xi will be in Hong Kong to attend a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return.

During his stay in Hong Kong, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will also witness the inauguration of the fifth administration of the HKSAR.

As he toured the exhibition on Monday, he shook hands with both Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chief executive of HKSAR, and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the incoming chief executive.

Other Chinese leaders including Premier Li Keqiang also toured the exhibition on Monday.

China’s next generation bullet train “Fuxing” debuted on the Beijing-Shanghai line on Monday.

A CR400AF model departed Beijing South Railway Station at 11:05 a.m. for Shanghai. At the same time, the CR400BF model left Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station for Beijing.

The new bullet trains, also known as electric multiple units (EMU),boast top speeds of 400 kilometers an hour and a consistent speed of 350 kilometers an hour.

The train was designed and manufactured by China.

The train includes a sophisticated monitoring system that constantly checks its performance and automatically slows the train in case of emergencies or abnormal conditions.

Thanks to a remote data-transmission system, a control center will be able to monitor the train in real time.

Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corp., operator of the new train, said “Fuxing” (rejuvenation), underpins the unique role that high-speed railway has played in China’s economic and social development.

Previous bullet trains featured the characters “Hexiehao” (harmony), on the exterior of each train.

China has the world’s longest railway network, 22,000 kilometers by the end of 2016, about 60 percent of the world’s total.

Beijing-Shanghai railway line is China’s busiest route, used by 50,5000 passengers daily.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday praised the “one country, two systems” as the best institutional arrangement to maintain Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, citing progress made since its return to the motherland in 1997.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when visiting an exhibition at the National Museum in Beijing profiling the achievements in Hong Kong over the past 20 years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for more coordinated efforts to carry out reforms and review all existing major reform programs.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at the 36th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.

All departments and localities should be devoted to delivering reforms and should ensure all results are reviewed, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during inspections and any lax implementation of reforms should be addressed.

Departments and authorities should track reform implementation and assess overall outcomes, the statement said.

The meeting saw the passing of guidelines and plans including a pilot plan on establishing Qilian Mountains National Park, measures to improve people’s lives and a system to supervise natural resource exploitation.

The leading group stressed that mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOE) is important to overall SOE reform, vowing to complete the mixed-ownership reform by the end of this year.

Emphasizing the important roles of Chinese enterprises overseas and outbound investment in maintaining the security of China’s overseas interests, the group called for improved supervision and regulation of overseas investment.

It was decided at the meeting that China would open wider to foreign investors and continue innovation-driven development following two years of effective practice in free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian.