<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>China stepped up its greening efforts last year with 3.998 million hectares of forest planted, official data showed Tuesday</b>.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The figure was higher than the 3.83 million hectares of afforestation seen in 2022, according to a report of the National Greening Commission. In 2023, the country also restored 4.379 million hectares of degraded grassland and treated 1.905 million hectares of sandy and stony land.</div><div><br></div><div>China on Tuesday celebrates its 46th National Tree Planting Day. - XINHUA</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>