Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang (right) and Executive Secretary of UNCCD Monique Barbut (second from left) attend the opening ceremony of the High Level Segment, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, on Sept 11, 2017. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

The vice-premier surveyed China's achievements handling desertification and eliminating poverty. He said people in Inner Mongolia are not only replacing sand and desert with grass and trees, but also developing a series of eco-friendly industries to help eliminate poverty.

"Inner Mongolia is an outstanding example of desertification combat in China. The history of the province is also a record of combating desertification,"Wang said.

At the conference, Monique Barbut, executive secretary of UNCCD, said the Belt and Road cooperative mechanism — launched on Sept 10 — would aid in the realization of the conference's goals.

About 300 people from 20 countries, international organizations and NGOs attended the conference. A series of representatives expressed commitment to the UNCCD and a willingness to partake in more international cooperation and share more information within the framework of the conference.

A representative from Civil Society, an NGO, said gender equality, especially women's access to land, should have more importance. This emphasis, she said, would greatly help the anti-desertification efforts.