The 10th China International Environmental Protection Exhibition was launched in Beijing on Thursday.

The theme of the exhibition is to save energy, reduce pollutant discharges and actively promote the progress in environmental protection technology. Companies from more than 20 countries and regions come to attend the exhibition.

Zhou Shengxian, head of State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said that China's environmental protection industry has made remarkable achievements in the past 30 years, but still lags far behind that of developed countries.

"A key task for China's environmental protection in the coming period is to reduce major pollutants discharges," Zhou said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

"To fulfil the task, we need technology, equipment and products, which present a great market demand for environmental protection industry," he said.

The exhibition, the largest of its kind, was started in 1986 and held every two years. It has promoted international exchanges and cooperation in environmental protection technology, introducing advanced foreign technology and enhancing domestic environmental protection technology.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)