On July 4, Zhou Shengxian, Secretary of MEP leading Party members' group and Minister of MEP, presided over an enlarged meeting of the ministerial leading Party members' group to convey the spirits of relevant meetings of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and the National Organization Working Conference, as well as make arrangements for implementation. Zhou stressed that we shall conduct in-depth study by taking into consideration the actual situation, practically further unify our thinking and actions into the latest arrangements and requirements proposed by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, energetically promote key environmental tasks, actively carry out the campaign to study and practice the Party's mass line, and strive to create a sound working and living environment for the people.
Zhou said that, to earnestly study and implement the spirits of the important speeches made by leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, it is crucial to profoundly understand their practical importance and guiding role, grasp its essence and follow the requirements for practice, as well as correlate them with our environmental work. In summary, these important speeches have the following implications: Firstly, these speeches chart the course for exploring the new path to environmental protection. From the perspective of ecological civilization, environmental issues are essentially the issues of economic structure, way of production and consumption pattern. We shall better the top-down design directly right from the macro-strategic level, develop and improve economic policies pertaining to environment starting from the social reproduction process of production, circulation, distribution and consumption, and explore and follow a new path of environmental protection. We shall not only draw on both experience and lessons of the developed countries in pollution control but also take our national conditions and development stage into consideration, and conduct comprehensive treatment with new concepts, new ideas and new measures. We shall never follow the old course of “treatment after pollution” and “sacrificing the environment for economic growth”. Secondly, the speeches further clarify the relationship between protection and development. We shall properly handle the relationship between environmental protection and economic development, protecting the environment in the course of economic development and pursuing economic development in the process of environmental protection. Carrying out economic development without environmental protection would be like “catching the fish by draining the pool”, while emphasizing environmental protection without economic development would be like “climbing trees to catch fish”. We must solidly foster the concept that to protect the environment is to preserve our productivity and to improve the environment is to develop our productivity, adhere to the principle of giving high priority to environmental protection, gain a good understanding of the requirements of protecting the environment in the course of economic development and pursuing economic development in the process of environmental protection, and strive to promote the harmonization of economic and social development with the population, resources and environment. Thirdly, a greater emphasis is placed on optimizing economic development through environmental protection. Air pollution prevention and control concerns people's well-being and is an important priority of the economic transition and upgrading, as well as an iconic measure for upgrading the Chinese economy. We need to make good use of the “reverse coercion mechanism” of improving environmental quality and enhancing people's wellbeing, follow a strict and tight environmental policy, incorporate eco-environmental protection requirements into economic transformation, and promote green, circular, and low-carbon development. Fourthly, we shall adhere to the working method of giving priorities to the key tasks and exercising management by categories. The prominent problem of air pollution in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta is PM2.5, while that of other regions is PM10, therefore it is necessary to handle each case on its own merits. We must suit measures to local conditions, provide guidance to different regions by category, formulate and implement differentiated environmental policies, and encourage qualified places to adopt more active and strict management initiatives. Fifthly, the measures for strengthening assessment and accountability mechanism are stressed. To enhance environmental protection, it is necessary to strictly implement the responsibility of the local Party committee and government, increase the weight of environmental protection performance in the assessment of Party and government leaders and leading groups, improve accountability mechanism and vigorously implement the accountability system. We shall never overstep the ecological “red line”. We need to actively assist organization and supervision departments in doing a good job in the related work, so as to completely change some regions' status of making GDP the only measure of growth, simply pursuing economic growth in the course of development, and giving up environmental protection to make way for economic development. We shall lose no time in pushing forward the revision of the Environmental Protection Law and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, and fundamentally solve the problem of high cost for law-compliance and low cost for violation. Sixthly, participation of the whole society is advocated. Since we breathe the same air, then we have to work hard together. We must follow the mass line of pooling the wisdom and effort of everyone and preventing and controlling by the masses, vigorously carry out the publicity and education on environmental protection, especially strengthen the publicity and education of basic national conditions and basic state policies, and speed up the building of a greater pattern jointly participated, built and shared by the government, enterprises and the public.
Zhou noted that, at present, the work of environmental protection is quite arduous. The spirits of the important speeches of the leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council shall be effectively implemented in our various work. Firstly, we shall energetically carry out the following three key tasks: deepening air pollution prevention and control with PM2.5 as the focal point; continuing to promote prevention and control of water pollution in major drainage basins and groundwater by focusing on the assurance of drinking water safety; further promoting contiguous environmental treatment of towns and villages as well as soil pollution control by focusing on rural eco-environmental protection. Secondly, the ten measures for curbing air pollution shall be thoroughly implemented. We shall cooperate with the General Office of the State Council to speed up the revision and improvement of these measures and make them to be issued as a the State Council document as soon as possible. We shall prepare for the meeting on air pollution prevention and control. A leading group of air pollution prevention and control for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surrounding areas shall be set up. We shall break down and put in place the objectives and tasks, as well as formulate and issue relevant supporting policies and measures. We shall establish the joint prevention and control mechanism for regional air pollution, and accelerate the establishment of the monitoring pre-warning and emergency response system for heavy pollution weather. We shall further conduct the interpretation and publicity of and guidance on these ten measures, and make them clear to the public to foster a good atmosphere for the whole society to participate in. Thirdly, we shall actively carry out activities to study and practice our Party's mass line. In accordance with the general requirements of “looking into a mirror, neatening the dress, taking a bath and having the illnesses treated”, and by focusing on the need to serve the people and to be down-to-earth, honest and upright in conduct, we shall strengthen the education of the Marxist view of the masses and the Party's mass line, resolutely oppose formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and lavishness, and improve our ability to do mass work. We shall guide our party members and cadres to maintain good work style, energy and drive, solve prominent environmental issues that hinder scientific development and impair people's health, vigorously promote the building of ecological civilization and eventually realize our dream of having blue skies, green land and clear water. The leading bodies of our Leading Party Members' Group, all departments and bureaus, and all units need to consciously unify their thinking and actions into the arrangements and requirements proposed by the CPC Central Committee. Leading organs, groups and cadres at all levels shall directly participate in these activities, taking the lead to study, listen to opinions and comments, have heart-to-heart talks, conduct criticism and self-criticism and carry out rectification. The leading Party members' group shall take the lead among the leaders within MEP, while I shall lead the leading Party members' group. The leading Party members' group and the leading body of our ministry shall first achieve what they ask the leading bodies of our departments and bureaus to do, and shall never do what they request them not to do. I will first accomplish what I ask the members of our leading group to perform, and will never do what I request them not to do. While locating our existing work problems which are mainly correlated to formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and lavishness, we shall make reference to the important speeches made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the “eight rules” and our internal detailed rules for implementation, seek truth from facts, and touch our thought and our souls. Fourthly, we shall do a good job in the revision of the Environmental Protection Law as well as the publicity and implementation of the judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate. We shall follow the concept of building ecological civilization put forward by the 18th CPC National Congress, enhance communication and coordination with the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC, fully cooperate with the commission in doing a good job in the research, examination and demonstration of the revision of the Environmental Protection Law, actively report on the opinions of MEP, so as to really make it a basic law to promote the building of ecological civilization and environmental protection. We shall formulate and execute a special plan for publicity and implementation, and intensify efforts to crack down on environmental violations and ensure the effective implementation of the judicial interpretation through media coverage, seminars, training, the issuance of guiding cases and etc. Fifthly, we shall train and select outstanding cadres for the cause of ecological civilization building and environmental protection. We shall effectively improve the measures and ways of democratic recommendation and assessment, competitive selection as well as training and selection of young cadres. We shall thereby, in combination with the actual situation of our Ministry, the dispatched agencies and the affiliates, train and select a group of young cadres who are able to be firm in the conviction, serve the people, be diligent and pragmatic, live up to their responsibility and maintain the character of integrity. We shall enhance the building of leading bodies of our departments, dispatched agencies and affiliates, and timely equip these leading bodies with full headcounts and strong leaders. We shall be strict with the members of our ministry, strengthen the supervision and management of cadres, improve our conduct, and strengthen the cohesiveness and capability of the Party organizations of various departments and units. Sixthly, we will convene a teleconference on mid-year work review. We will study and convey the spirits of a series of important speeches made by leaders of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council since the start of this year, and summarize our work of the first half of 2013. In accordance with the latest requirements of the Central Committee, we will carry out further deployment, promotion and implementation with respect to the work of the second half of the year, ensuring the successful completion of our annual tasks.

Vice Ministers of MEP Pan Yue, Wu Xiaoqing, Li Ganjie, and Zhai Qing, head of discipline inspection group Zhou Ying, member of the leading Party members' group He Jie, Chief Engineer Wan Bentai and Chief Engineer on Nuclear Safety Liu Hua attended the meeting.

Officials in charge of all departments of MEP, the dispatched agencies and the affiliates also sit in the meeting.