China will stop production of CFC, a major ozone depleting substance (ODS), by the end of 2010, with the dismantling of production lines in 37 CFC producing enterprises across China, said an environmental official Sunday, January 14, in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province.

So far, more than 90,000 tons of ODS has been phased out in China, said Fan Yuansheng, vice director of the pollution control department under the State Environmental Protection Administration.

China has eliminated the largest amount of ODS among developing countries, since the production of ODS was banned in developed countries in 1996, according to Fan.

Fan said that China, the largest producer and consumer of CFC, has joined in the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund, and carried out a national plan for the phasing-out of ODS. More than 40 policies and regulations have been implemented in China to control the production, consumption, import and export of ODS.

Fan said that overall ODS elimination plans have been carried out in the fields of CFC, tobacco, air-conditioner and detergent production in China.

The Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund, the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the World Bank have provided US$550 million to China and will offer 150 million dollars more to help China phase out ODS and find substitutes for ODS.

(People's Daily 01/14/01)