BEIJING - Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said that more effort should be made to save land and resources in order to reduce consumption and improve the efficiency of the economy.

Li made the remarks when meeting model workers from the country's land and resources management departments on Tuesday.

Conserving land and resources is also important to sustaining stable and rapid growth in the long run, Li said.

He said that China is facing increasing pressures on its resources and environment, with arable land per capita only one-third of the world average, and imports making up half of its major mineral resources.

The country should prioritize conservation of resources, making full use of its strategic plans and economic policies to manage and guide their use, Li said.

Governments at all levels should increase efforts to push forward reforms and innovations in conserving resources, and initiate drives that call on society as a whole to preserve resources, he added.

Xinhua