Sir David Attenborough and a group of broadcasters, conservationists and MPs have called on the Chinese president to bring his country’s ivory trade to an end and save the African elephant from extinction.

In an open letter to Xi Jinping, the broadcasting legend asks China’s leader to outlaw the buying and selling of ivory and to provide Chinese citizens with information on the issue.

The letter is timed to place pressure on China, the world’s biggest market for ivory, despite a global ban in 1989, ahead of a visit by Prince William to the country next month.

The prince is due to make a statement on conservation on 4 March in Yunnan province and conservationists expect him to discuss the wildlife trade, including ivory.

Last December, in a speech at the World Bank, Washington DC, he noted that the street price of ivory in China had increased from $5 (3.20) to $2,100 (£1365.86) per kg in 25 years and that the rise had precipitated an increase in poaching.

He said: “Those who look the other way [on the wildlife trade], or spend the illicit proceeds of these crimes, must be held to account.”

Leaders of several dozen conservation organisations and 34 MPs are among those who have signed the new letter, which warns that China risks damaging its own international image over the ivory trade.

“We believe your people, as well as the global community, would welcome your decision to band a trade that perpetuates so much cruelty and, as a consequence, a negative image of China internationally,” they write.

The signatories are categorical regarding China’s key role in the trade, citing research by the international wildlife trade body, Cites, that the country’s increasingly affluent middle class is causing demand for ivory to soar.

Critically endangered species Show all 10 1 /10 Critically endangered species Critically endangered species Yangtze Finless Porpoise There are as few as 1,000 of this highly intelligent dolphin from the Chinese river of Yangtze. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Cross River Gorilla There are around 200-300 left in the wild. Wikmedia Critically endangered species The Amur Leopard There are only around 30 left, exclusively in the Russian Far East. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Black Rhino Improving numbers, but with fewer than 5,000 left in central Africa, it is critically endangered. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Hawskbill Sea Turtle Mostly threatened by wildlife trade; their shells highly valued. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Javan Rhino The most threatened rhino species - there are as few as 35 in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Leatherback Turtle Having lost many of its habitable beaches, and impacted by fishing operations, this seaturtle is considered by WWF to be 'critically endangered'. Wikmedia Critically endangered species South China Tiger It is believed to be 'functionally extinct', with none of the species left in the wild. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Sumatran Elephant There are between 2,400 - 2,800 of this elephant native to Borneo and Sumatra. Wikmedia Critically endangered species Sumatran Orangutan There are an est. 7,300 but the gradual deforestation of their Sumatran habitat may threaten further. Wikmedia

“Unless urgent actions are taken by the international community, and China in particular, to stop this demand, the killing of elephants will continue unabated and could lead to their extinction in much of their range areas within a short time – possibly as little as 10 years,” the letter, which was organised by Denise Dresner of Action for Elephants, says.

Cites data shows that more than 20,000 elephants are being killed annually in Africa while the UN puts the figure much higher at 32,000 prompting experts to warn that they risk being declared extinct at a local level in some countries.

China has been sensitive to allegations that it is directly responsible for the elephant poaching crisis. China’s foreign ministry said it “strongly dissatisfied” with a report that stated ivory prices in Tanzania spiked during a visit to the country by Xi.

During the 2013 visit Chinese officials were so brazen that they allegedly loaded ivory into diplomatic pouches on the presidential plane carrying Xi Jingpeng.

Although there is an international ban on trading ivory, China is allowed by Cites to trade ivory at a domestic level even though conservationists say it allows illegal ivory to be easily laundered. The letter says this trade needs to end.