The world’s biggest consumer of trafficked ivory—most of which comes from elephants illegally killed in Africa—destroyed more than 6 metric tons of seized elephant ivory today. This move is a hopeful signal that China is firmly behind international action to stop rampant elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade.

China has previously indicated it is prepared to clamp down hard on the illegal ivory trade. The ivory destruction takes place just weeks after eight Chinese citizens were convicted given sentences of 3 to 15 years imprisonment for smuggling a total of 3.2 tons of ivory.

Attending the ivory crushing ceremony were Chinese government officials, as well as a variety of international observers including from the United States government, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the United Nations Environment Programme, and international non-governmental organizations including WWF and TRAFFIC.