On Mar. 1, Vice Minister and NNSA Administrator Liu Hua met with Petteri Tiippana, Director General of Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on issues such as bilateral cooperation in the area of nuclear power safety.
MEP printed and distributed the Detailed Rules of Implementation for Operation and Management of Urban Monitoring Stations under National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network (on trial).
Between Mar. 1 and 2, Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin went to the Weichang County and Longhua County in Chengde Municipality of Hebei Province for an inspection on the targeted poverty alleviation.
On Mar. 3, Minister Chen Jining chaired a symposium and invited some NPC deputies and CPPCC members to contribute their wisdoms to the environmental protection effort. Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin participated.
On Mar. 8, Minister Chen Jining received an interview in the minister’s passage for the Two Sessions about the ongoing thematic inspection on the air quality in the first quarter.
On Mar. 9, a press conference was held on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 12th NPC. Minister Chen Jining answered the questions raised by the Chinese and international news presses about “strengthening the ecological environment conservation”.
On Mar. 15, Secretary of the Leading Party Group and Minister Chen Jining chaired an enlarged study session of the Central Team to convey the guidelines of the fifth session of the 12th NPC and the fifth session of the 12th National Committee of the CPPCC. The NPC deputies and CPPCC members from the Ministry briefed the study session on the grandness of the Two Sessions, and voiced their experience and gains from those events. Leader of the Permanent Discipline Inspection Team Zhou Ying, Vice Ministers Huang Runqiu, Zhai Qing, Zhao Yingmin, and Liu Hua attended the meeting. The heads of the Ministry’s internal departments, Beijing-based regional offices, and affiliated institutions observed.
On Mar. 16, MEP and MCA jointly printed and distributed the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Guidance to and Standardized Management of Environmental NGOs.
On Mar. 17, Cainiao Green Alliance Foundation was established in Beijing. Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin spoke at the inauguration ceremony.
On Mar. 19, Minister Chen Jining attended the 18th China Development Forum and delivered remarks. On the sidelines of the forum, Chen met with the CEO of the World Bank Kristalina Georgieva, the CEO of Apple Inc. Tim Cook, and Global Managing Director of consulting firm McKinsey & Company Dominic Barton.
On Mar. 20, 26, and 30, Minister Chen Jining chaired thematic meetings to analyze and estimate the recent air pollution control trends in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and adjacent area and make deployments for the next stage. Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin attended the meeting.
On Mar. 21, Minister Chen Jining met with his Israeli counterpart Zeev Elkin in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the environment field.
On Mar. 23, MEP announced the ministry’s 2016 work report on government information sharing.
On Mar. 28, MEP released a list of enterprises monitored by the central government due to excessive pollution discharge in the fourth quarter and a list of enterprises that failed to complete rectifications within the first three quarters last year.
Between Mar. 28 and 29, MEP held this year’s first session of the training program on ecological conservation red lines in Chengdu Municipality, the capital city of Sichuan Province in Southwest China. Vice Minister Huang Runqiu spoke at the session.
On Mar. 30, MEP adopted seven national environmental protection standards including the Water Quality-Determination of Aniline Compounds–Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, which shall be effective as of May 1, 2017. The Water Quality-Determination of the Chemical Oxygen Demand-Dichromate Method (GB 11914-89) shall be abolished as of this date.
MEP printed and distributed the 2016 investigation report on nationwide environmental impact assessment agencies.
On Mar. 31, the Seventh Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety reviewed China’s national implementation report in the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. MEP Vice Minister and NNSA Administrator Liu Hua headed a delegation to the meeting, briefed the meeting on the progress made by China in implementation of the convention, and answered questions raised by all parties.
