The 300-odd-page "Report on Strategy for Sustainable Development in China, 2003" is the first of its kind in which the evaluation of national overall strength was taken in for sustainable development, with particularly the value of ecological environment considered as an important index of assessment. The seven indexes covered by the report are strength in economy, science and technology, military power, ecology, government control, diplomacy as well as social development level.

As compared with the twelve countries of the US, UK, Russia, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, Australia and South Africa, China's overall strength ranks the seventh, with a total points about half those of the US.

As for economic strength, China, following the US and Japan, is listed at the third. For military power China takes the fourth place after the US, Japan and UK. Besides, the nation's capability on diplomacy, ecology and government control ranks the fifth, sixth and thirteenth respectively. The social development level and science-technology both rank eleventh.

While of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in Chinese inland areas, Beijing takes the second place in overall strength for sustainable development, next only to Shanghai.

The overall strength for sustainable development is composed of five supportive systems, namely, existence, development, environment, society and intelligence. Beijing got the highest point in social supportive system and the lowest in environmental supportive system.

Beijing also led the nation on some sub-indexes such as "regional community security", "motive force for regional social progress", "regional competence in science and technology", "regional education capability" and "input level for regional agriculture".

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2003)