(Yicai Global) April 23 -- China's average ecological civilization score, which it uses to record how well domestic regions tackle poverty and environmental issues, was 'mediocre' in 2017 but is closing in on 'good,' according to the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The academy gave China a national average index score of 69.96 for 2017, according to an assessment report it published recently. A score of less than 60 is considered poor, between 60 and 70 mediocre, between 70 and 80 good and above 80 excellent. The nation considers a region 'qualified' if it scores above 60.

The evaluation criteria for the biennial index includes 17 sub-benchmarks factoring in life and environmental quality, air quality, water quality and per-capita gross domestic product.

China has made significant progress since its 2015 report, Liu Xu, an academician at the CAE, said during a press briefing unveiling the report. Some 37 cities have seen massive improvements and another 198 have advanced well, he added, saying he expects the national average to tip 70 in the index for this year.

At a provincial level, Fujian and Zhejiang in the southeast were the top scorers, with Chongqing in the southwest filling out the top three. Each scored between 74 and 76. The top 10 cities were Xiamen at 80.94, and Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Changsha, Sanya, Huizhou, Haikou, Huangshan and Dalian, all of which scored over 76.

Editor: James Boynton