Due to the transboundary nature of air pollutants, a province's efforts to improve air quality can reduce PM_2.5 concentration in the surrounding area. The inter-provincial PM_2.5 pollution transport could bring great challenges to related environmental management work, such as financial fund allocation and subsidy policy formulation. Herein, we examined the transport characteristics of PM_2.5 pollution across provinces in 2013 and 2020 via chemical transport modeling and then monetized inter-provincial contributions of PM_2.5 improvement based on pollutant emission control costs. We found that approximately 60% of the PM_2.5 pollution was from local sources, while the remaining 40% originated from outside provinces. Furthermore, about 1011 billion RMB of provincial air pollutant abatement costs contributed to the PM_2.5 concentration decline in other provinces during 2013–2020, accounting for 41.2% of the total abatement costs. Provinces with lower unit improvement costs for PM_2.5, such as Jiangsu, Hebei, and Shandong, were major contributors, while Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian, bearing higher unit costs, were among the main beneficiaries. Our study identifies provinces that contribute to air quality improvement in other provinces, have high economic efficiency, and provide a quantitative framework for determining inter-provincial compensations. This study also reveals the uneven distribution of pollution abatement costs (PM_2.5 improvement/abatement costs) due to transboundary PM_2.5 transport, calling for adopting inter-provincial economic compensation policies. Such mechanisms ensure equitable cost-sharing and effective regional air quality management.

China is now confronting the intertwined challenges of air pollution and climate change. Given the high synergies between air pollution abatement and climate change mitigation, the Chinese government is actively promoting synergetic control of these two issues. The Synergetic Roadmap project was launched in 2021 to track and analyze the progress of synergetic control in China by developing and monitoring key indicators. The Synergetic Roadmap 2022 report is the first annual update, featuring 20 indicators across five aspects: synergetic governance system and practices, progress in structural transition, air pollution and associated weather-climate interactions, sources, sinks, and mitigation pathway of atmospheric composition, and health impacts and benefits of coordinated control. Compared to the comprehensive review presented in the 2021 report, the Synergetic Roadmap 2022 report places particular emphasis on progress in 2021 with highlights on actions in key sectors and the relevant milestones. These milestones include the proportion of non-fossil power generation capacity surpassing coal-fired capacity for the first time, a decline in the production of crude steel and cement after years of growth, and the surging penetration of electric vehicles. Additionally, in 2022, China issued the first national policy that synergizes abatements of pollution and carbon emissions, marking a new era for China's pollution-carbon co-control. These changes highlight China's efforts to reshape its energy, economic, and transportation structures to meet the demand for synergetic control and sustainable development. Consequently, the country has witnessed a slowdown in carbon emission growth, improved air quality, and increased health benefits in recent years.

China is striving to build a “Beautiful China” characterized by clean air. The country has committed to further reducing its national mean fine particle (PM_2.5) concentration by 10% from 2020 to 2025, following the substantial improvements in its air quality during the past decade. Meanwhile, the “Healthy China” mission has pledged to increase the national mean life expectancy by one year during the same period. Yet, to what extent will the “Beautiful China” mission contribute to the “Healthy China” vision by reducing the levels of the detrimental PM_2.5 is still unclear. Here, by coupling the life table approach and an epidemiological concentration-response model, this study quantifies the potential benefits of achieving China's 2025 air quality target on the national life expectancy. The analysis reveals that the Chinese citizen could expect to extend the average life expectancy by 42.5 days by 2025 due to improved air quality. In addition, if the Chinese government outperforms the planned air quality target, as it usually does, the gains would increase to 65.4 days, ~18% of the “Healthy China” life expectancy increment task. Further reductions in PM_2.5 concentration would lead to accelerated gains in life expectancy both nationally and at the city level, providing strong incentives for the authorities to keep improving air quality. This study reveals the notable benefits on individual life that could be expected from air quality improvement in China and suggests that longer life expectancy is achievable by implementing a health-prioritized air quality management mechanism.