China's Ministry of Environmental Protection found that 69% of the 4,077 firms investigated in its campaign to normalise compliance had violated environmental standards. As a part of China's wider "war on pollution", the ministry began investigating 137,800 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which has seen record levels of pollution of late. The crackdown on pollution started four years ago, but the ministry has struggled to make powerful state-backed companies and local governments obsessed with growth obey the rules. However, its powers have been increased and it imposed fines of CNY6.63bn ($963.30m) in 2016, up 56% from 2015, punishing 28 environmental violations.
China's Ministry of Environmental Protection found that 69% of the 4,077 firms investigated in its campaign to normalise compliance had violated environmental standards. As a part of China's wider "war on pollution", the ministry began investigating 28 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which has seen record levels of pollution of late. The crackdown on pollution started four years ago, but the ministry has struggled to make powerful state-backed companies and local governments obsessed with growth obey the rules. However, its powers have been increased and it imposed fines of CNY6.63bn ($963.30m) in 2016, up 56% from 2015, punishing 137,800 environmental violations.