President Xi Jinping has called for long-term input and an innovative approach to consolidate and develop the green ecological barrier in northern China.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks as he gave instructions on the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

The program-launched in 1978 to curb desertification and soil erosion and expected to be completed by 2050-consists of afforestation in Northwest, North and Northeast China.

Xi said the project has generated huge ecological, economic and social benefits in the region over the past 40 years and has set an example for global ecological management.

But as the region's ecological environment remains fragile, efforts to continuously advance the program will be conducive to the sustainable development of the region, as well as that of the entire nation, he said.

Premier Li Keqiang also gave an instruction asking the program to be carried forward hand in hand with rural revitalization and poverty alleviation efforts, in order to reap ecological and economic benefits.

Vice-Premier Han Zheng, while attending a conference in Beijing on Friday marking the program's 40th anniversary, recognized the program's achievements.

According to an evaluation conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the program has afforested more than 30 million hectares of barren land over the past 40 years, with the forest coverage rate in the region more than doubling-from 5.05 percent in 1977 to the current 13.57 percent.

The increased forestation has reduced ecological disasters and aided agricultural development, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The program also reversed the expansion of sandy land in the region in the 1990s. According to the administration, the region's sandy land has decreased in the past 15 years by an annual average of 1,183 square kilometers.

As a result, sandstorms in the region have been reduced by more than half, from 6.8 days a year to 2.4, according to the administration. Also, more than 15 million people were lifted out of poverty through developing commercial forests and planting fruit in the improved environment, it said.

At Friday's conference, individuals and units from 13 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the project.

Han, the vice-premier, said the program still faces numerous challenges. He asked local authorities to advance and enrich the program's spirit, strengthen ecological protection and make progress in the country's development of forests and grasslands.

Aybek Askhar contributed to this story.