China is aiming to effectively curb emissions of major pollutants and ensure greater environmental quality, as pointed out in a strategic report released on Thursday by the country's leading environmental experts.

The study, jointly published by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), says the government's intensified and persistent efforts to control pollution have paid off by cutting emissions of major pollutants.

"China now faces more pressure on pollution control than any other country in the world. Challenges facing the environment and natural resources are among the harshest," said Zhou Shengxian, environmental protection minister, at the study's launch ceremony on Thursday.

"As a result, the task of solving these problems is also the toughest."

It may still take China two decades to fully rein in rampant pollution, rapid ecological degradation and the loss of valuable species, according to the roadmap laid out by the study.

"The target is to effectively curb emissions of major pollutants and ensure environmental safety by 2020," it said, adding that industrial pollution in urban areas should be brought under control and the safety of drinking water guaranteed.

By 2030, the country will see a comprehensive improvement in its environmental quality, in both urban and rural areas, with pollutants being well managed.

"That is to say, toxic pollution caused by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, which are quite difficult to tackle at the moment, will be fully controlled by 2030," Xia Guang, head of the policy research center for the environment and economy under the MEP, told China Daily.

Emissions of some conventional pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide from coal combustion, have already peaked in China, thanks to stringent environmental policies adopted over the past five years, said Xia.