ABSTRACT
Addressing the opening ceremony of the 1999 Asia—Kyushu Regional Exchanges Summit in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, Vice-Premier Li Lanqing declared the Chinese government was ‘devoting itself to environmental protection in the face of increasing pressures from the rising population and rapid economic development’. To reach its goal of sustained economic growth, China was adhering to the following guiding principles and policies:
Pollution prevention and control to be further intensified, birth control policies must continue to be upheld, and economic structures readjusted to be environmentally friendly
Prevention of pollution should top all priorities to eliminate new source of pollutants
Wastage to be reduced to the minimum when using natural resources
Scientific progress and technological innovations to be used to reduce energy consumption and spread the use of cleaner fuel in the interests of environmental protection
Government control and market mechanisms to be utilised and environmental legislation further advanced
Public media and education institutions to be mobilised to enhance public awareness of the urgency of environmental protection (Xinhua, 9 November 1999).
