Shi Guangyin, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, a deputy to Yulin Municipal People's Congress in Northwest China's Shaanxi province and Party chief of Shilisha village in Dingbian county, Shaanxi province, checks seedlings. [Photo provided to npc.gov.cn]

On Sept 2, 2026, I joined the International Seminar on Desertification Prevention and Sustainable Development Audit in Yulin, Shaanxi province. Hosted by the National Audit Office of China, or CNAO, the seminar showed that desertification is not only an environmental issue, but also a challenge to development and public governance.

In his keynote address, Hou Kai, auditor-general of the CNAO, described desertification prevention as China's strategic choice. The message was clear: a problem of this scale cannot be solved by occasional projects, but requires a long-term national strategy.

China does not see deserts simply as "problem areas". Instead, it seeks to transform ecological constraints into opportunities for sustainable development through the idea of "greenery advancing as deserts retreat".

This is why Yulin is such an interesting case.

The city shows how ecological restoration, water management, long-term planning and economic development can be combined in one development model.

Yulin's lesson is that becoming "green" does not simply mean planting more trees. It means designing development in ways that fit the ecological conditions of the area.

China emphasizes three important principles: a systematic approach, ecological priority and top-level design. In simple terms, this means looking at the whole system, respecting ecological limits and maintaining policy coherence from the national to the local level.

Water is one of the most important constraints to dryland restoration. The CNAO therefore highlighted the idea of "Green Policies Tailored to Water Availability", reminding us that environmental policy must respect the carrying capacity of local water resources.

This is where the role of supreme audit institutions becomes particularly important. Auditors should ask not only whether public money was spent correctly, but also whether that spending actually improved ecological conditions.

Hou Kai summarized the CNAO's broader perspective with the idea that "national audit empowers desertification prevention and sustainable development".

Another important approach is research-based auditing. Auditors are expected to understand the causes of problems, rather than relying only on checklists or formal compliance.

If a restoration project fails, the question should not stop at whether the target was missed. Auditors should investigate whether the real cause was water scarcity, unsuitable vegetation, weak policy design, inconsistent funding or poor coordination.

The CNAO also emphasizes performance auditing that tracks funds and project outcomes. This means following the connection between public expenditure and actual changes in vegetation, land use, biodiversity and other ecological conditions.

Technology is becoming increasingly important in this work. Geographic information systems, remote sensing, drones, data analytics and AI allow auditors to examine large areas more efficiently and target field inspections more precisely.

The cases presented by the CNAO, including the Great Bend of the Yellow River, Horqin and Hunshandake sandy lands, and areas around the Taklimakan Desert, reflect an ecosystem approach. Water, forests, soil, biodiversity, projects and funding must be examined together because environmental systems do not follow administrative boundaries.

One particularly admirable point is that the CNAO did not present China's experience only as a success story. It openly identified continuing challenges such as regional disparities, inconsistent policy and funding support, and weak post-project maintenance.

For me, Yulin is important not because it has simply "defeated the desert". It shows how a city can live within ecological constraints and gradually transform those constraints into drivers of sustainable development.

The broader lesson from Yulin and the CNAO is that public auditing is moving from money to outcomes, from projects to systems, and from compliance to sustainability.

From desertification to restoration, and from restoration to sustainable development, Yulin and the CNAO together offer a valuable model for environmental governance and environmental auditing.