Vice-Premier Han Zheng presided over a conference on air pollution prevention and control in Beijing on Aug 29.

Attendees discussed measures to control air pollution in North China in the coming autumn and winter.

Han said the root cause of heavy air pollution is low-quality economic development, so efforts should be made to speed up the transformation of industrial structures.

Effective facilities to control air pollution should be built. Clean heating in North China should be promoted according to specific local conditions, he said.

He urged coordinated operations among different regions in the fight against air pollution and strict supervision on polluters.

The government should not order the enterprises that meet emission standards to stop production at will, he added.