The lingering poor air quality in Beijing and many other cities is a reminder of the serious challenge of pollution and the need to make greater efforts to protect the environment.

It should prompt us to rethink our overall pollution-battling strategy and revamp our development philosophy so that environmental considerations become an integral part of economic development decision-making.

While China has rapidly shaken off general poverty in the past three decades through economic reforms and opening-up, it has been facing increasingly serious environmental problems.