In 1978, China launched its landmark ecological project, the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, which has become the world's largest afforestation endeavor.

After decades of sustained efforts, China has brought 53 percent of its treatable degraded land under effective management, and has contributed roughly 25 percent of the world's new green coverage in recent years.

China has also turned its fight against desertification into a driver of economic development and improved livelihoods.

At a factory in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, woody waste from pruning windbreak trees was being sorted, shredded and compressed into biomass pellets, which could match coal in calorific value, cost less to produce and emit far less carbon.

"We process more than 36 tonnes of raw material a day into over 30 tonnes of biomass pellets," said the workshop production manager, adding that the products sell well across multiple regions and new jobs have been created for nearby farmers and herders.