The 2nd Meeting of the 2nd Phase of the China Council for International cooperat ion on Environment and Development (CCICED) was held from 16 - 18 November 1998 in Beijing. 43 Chinese and international members, 15 Working Group Co - Chairs, 7 specially invited guests and 31 observers attended the meeting. The meeting wa s chaired by Council Chairman Mr. Wen jiabao, and Vice-Chairmen Dr. Labelle, Pro f. Qu Geping and Mr. Xie Zhenhua.
The meeting approved the following new appointments:
Council Chairman - Mr. Wen Jiabao, Vice Premier of the State Council of China
Vice - Chairman - Dr. Labelle, President of Canadian International Development Agency Vice - Chairman - Prof. Qu Geping, Chairan of Environental Resources Protection Committee under the National People's Congress of China
Vice - Chairman - Mr. Liu Jiang, Vice Chairman of State Development Planning Coimmission of China
Vice - Chairma - Mr. Xie zhenhua, Minister of State Environ
ental Protection Administration of China
The Meeting approved 11 new Chinese members, 7 new international members, and th e co - chairmanship for the newly established Transportation Working Group.
Prof. Zhand Kunmin, former Deputy Administrator of National Environmental protec tion Agency of Chia, was appoointed the new Secretary General by the Council Cha irman.
Premier Zhu Rongji met with some of the participants of the meeting and made rem arks on the China Council and China's environental protection. On behalf of the State Council, he commended the China Council for its contribution as a high - l evel advisory organisation in the field of environment and develloment, and expr essed his thanks to Council members. He pointed out that the Chinese Government has been attaching consistent importance to environmental protection, and will p articipate in international cooperation in a very sincere way. He also made coim ents on issues of concern to Council members.
In his opening speech, Council Chairman Mr. Wen Jiabao commended the Council's o iutstanding contribution that has won wide recognition from the Chinese governme nt, the Chinese people and the international community. He also noted that the C ouncil has becoe a model of international cooperation in the field of environmen t and development. He reiewed the progress made by China on environment and deve lopment, and emphasized that China's modernization process must deal wih the rel ationship between economic developmen, population, resources and environment in a correcy way, and that the strategy of sustainable devlopment must be adhered t o. He hoped that the Council would conduct targeted research on key issues of th e economy, society and the environment, and continue to make valuable reco
mendations to the Chinese government on environment protection and economic deve lopment.
The Meeting examined and approved the work report and financial report by the Se cretariat, held general debate on "China's Economic Reform and the Role of the C ouncil", listened to and examined the work reports and future plans of the 8 Wor king Groups and the Task Force, listened to the report on the Working Group Co - Chairs' Coordination Meeting, and heard reports by the State Development Planni ng Commission, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the State Forestry Burea u, the Ministry of Water Resources, the China Meteorological Administration and the State Environment Protection Administration on the implementation of China's Agenda 21 and relevant international environmental conventions.
Local government leaders from Bijing municipality, Jilin Province, Jiangsu Provi nce and Sichuan Province were invited to the meeting as special guests and made presentations on their progress on environment and development.
The meting expressed support for the establishment of a full - time Headquarters Secretariat to take charge of the Council's affairs when the Council is not in session.
The meeting requires that the Working Groups and the Task Force take full accoun t of China's unique situation, carry out research on outstanding issues in relev ant fields, make recommendations to the Council on feasible solutions, and imple ment demonstrations with a view to spreadling the experience and achieving pract ical results.
The meeting commended the establishment of the CCICED website, and voiced its ho pe that it could be perfected and updated on a regular basis, and that Council m embers could better communicate through electronic means.
The meeting disucssed and adopted the Council's Recommendations to the Chinese G overnment, and expressed its hope that the Chinese government would give hight a ttention to these recommendations, and forward them to the relevant ministries f or study and adoption. The meeting hoped that the Council's work could help Chin a address problems in the field of environment and development and contribute to China's implementation of the sustainable development strategy.
