The import and export value of the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province surged 39.3 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year, hitting 114.41 billion yuan ($17.61 billion) and accounting for 29.8 percent of the province's total, said Qingdao customs.

China and Central and Eastern European countries pledged to beef up collaboration on green development and environmental protection as they inaugurated a year of cooperation in Beijing on Tuesday.

Despite severe time constraints, China will make extremely arduous efforts to go carbon neutral before 2060 amid expanding energy demand, a senior climate official said on Thursday.