Wuyuan Bay in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province enjoys a healthy natural environment. [Photo/VCG]

The Green Competitiveness Index of Chinese Cities was released on Nov 3, and Xiamen in East China's Fujian province ranked seventh with an index of 0.3384, higher than the national average.

The report, released by the China Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Green Industry Platform, is a reliable indicator of progress in sustainable development, and is an effective motivator for local governments and the general public to work toward the development of an ecofriendly society.

Xiamen has long been making efforts to transform itself into an environmentally friendly city, and is working toward the sustainable development of society, the economy, and the environment.

In 2018, 44 percent of land area in Xiamen's urban built-up areas was green or forested. That year, the city ranked second among 169 major cities in China in terms of air quality and first in terms of progress toward ecological civilization.

In addition, Xiamen saw rapid growth in the development of innovation and entrepreneurship. It directed 3.4 percent of its budget toward research and development in 2018, and its GDP grew by 8.1 percent in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 0.5 percentage points over the same period last year.