Xie Zhenhua, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, told a news conference that the overall quality of water and atmosphere environment has remained stable, the environment of some cities and areas has been improved, the protection of biological environment has been reinforced and nuclear and radiation safety has been secured.

Statistics show that compared with 1998, the emission of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand both dropped 10.3 percent in 2002, while the discharge of solid industrial waste was down by 58.9 percent.

He said that the World Bank has estimated that in the past 10 years, China contributed half of the world's total decreased waste that may cause damage to the ozone layer.

Nonetheless, he said, China still faces a severe environment situation as its total emission of waste is still far too much for the environment to bear.

Foreign Investment Encouraged in Environmental Protection

Xie said that foreign capital is welcomed to participate in China's environmental protection industry.

The output value of China's environmental protection is about 170 billion yuan (about US$20.56 billion) a year, and is growing at an annual rate of 15 percent. It is predicted that from 2001 to 2005, the total investment in environmental protection will reach 700 billion yuan.

He said that China's environmental protection industry has great potential and enjoys a bright future. Market opportunities can be found in many environmental protection sectors including urban sewage farms, refuse dump, power plants, motor vehicle exhaust and consultation services.

License System to Be Adopted for Waste Emission

Xie said that in the coming few years China will implement an overall volume control and a license system for waste emission, on the basis of which, trading of sulfur dioxide will be carried out in some key areas.

China and the United States have had cooperation in the trading of sulfur dioxide emission, and pilot projects in some places and enterprises have been doing well, said Xie. The key to trading waste emission is the implementation of overall volume control and license system.

The policy of waste emission trading has been widely accepted, and the policy is expected to spread further following the success of the pilot projects, according to Xie.

Input in Environment Proposed to Account for 1.5 Percent of GDP

Xie said that a minimum investment that accounts for 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product is needed to basically control pollution arising from economic development.

Over the past five years China invested 580 billion yuan (about US$70.13) or 1.2 percent of its GDP in environmental protection and biological construction, of which 480 to 490 billion yuan was channeled to pollution control, said Xie.

He said that experience of foreign countries and China's own practice have proven that if the input in environmental protection can reach 1.5 percent of the GDP, pollution problems can be brought under control; and if the input exceeds 1.5 percent of the GDP, the environment can be improved.

Nuclear Radiation Level under Control

According to monitoring results, China's current nuclear radiation level is within the controlled scope and there should be no problem with it, said Xie.

To ensure nuclear safety, the National People's Congress is discussing a law for preventing nuclear radiation pollution, said Xie.

He said that each step of nuclear production and construction is subject to strict examination, special monitoring institutions and personnel are held accountable for the supervision of construction and operation of nuclear facilities. In addition, the disposal of nuclear waste is also strictly controlled.

He said that to ensure no impact on the environment, China has built automatic and continuous monitoring network in places around nuclear facilities, and has built storehouses in relevant provinces for centralized storing of civil radiation waste.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2003)