To fight against the illegal ivory trade, the General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, announced a complete ban on the commercial trade and processing of ivory that came onto effect on Sunday.

Prior to that, the State Forestry Administration stopped approving license applications for ivory processing and trade on Dec 1.

The ban honors a commitment the Chinese authorities made at the beginning of 2017.

The commercial processing and sale of ivory will stop by March 31, and all registered traders will then be phased out, which will bring a complete halt to the market by the end of the year.

Ivory products from legitimate owners can be displayed in non-commercial sites including museums and art galleries, while ivory cultural relics from legitimate sources and identified by professional authentication organizations may be sold at auction under strict supervision after obtaining a license.

In the future, the State Forestry Administration will strengthen its enforcement of the ban. It will launch inspections along with the public security department, customs department, as well as commerce department.

And universal public promotion and education campaigns to advocate protection of elephant and promote an ecological civilization will be launched.