China has been speeding up clean fuel program and limiting poisonous substances in fuel to reduce automobile exhaust emissions, an official with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said.

Up to now, 34 items of exhaust emission standards for motor vehicles have been enacted. The standards have helped curb not only exhaust emissions but also noise and other pollution caused by growing number of vehicles, the official said.

To study the future of automobile pollution, SEPA's monitoring center for automobile emission has cooperated with labs in the European Union, the United States and Japan.

SEPA and several other government departments are working together to regulate the maximum emission allowed for different types of motor vehicles throughout their life. This will include motorbikes and motor-driven tricycles.

China produced more than 4 million automobiles in 2003 -- half of which were sedans with an increase of 83.25 percent in comparison with the previous year. China became the fourth largest country for automobile production and third largest country for automobile consumption, government statistics show.

The total amount of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emitted from motor vehicles reached 8.4 million tons and 36.4 million tons respectively in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2004)