MEP Minister Zhou Shengxian met with a delegation led by Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today in Beijing. They exchanged views on issues of common concern.
Zhou first welcomed Fred Krupp on behalf of MEP and briefed the guests on the difficulty and focus of China’s environmental work in the new era and under the new situation. He noted that as a developing country with the largest population in the world, China has experienced sustained fast economic growth which also resulted in a concentration of environmental problems that have occurred in developed countries over 100 years of industrialization. Currently, how to properly handle the relationship between economic growth and environmental protection becomes a hard issue in environmental work. We must pursue a new path to environmental protection fit for China's national condition, a path striving for environmental protection in the process of economic development and seeking economic development in the course of environmental protection. Never can we afford to pursue economic growth at the cost of environment. To solve prominent environmental problems harming scientific development and people’s health is top of the agenda. Therefore, we must focus on water pollution, air pollution, chemical management and other problems concerning people’s well being.
Zhou continued that since 2005, EDF has participated in the work of China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Phase III-V by providing funds and experts, making a positive contribution to the Council. We hope EDF will keep on the attention to and support for CCICED, establish closer strategic partnership with us and expand our cooperation fields. Furthermore, built on the pleasant cooperation, both sides may explore collaboration on prevention and control of PM2.5, development of shale gas and environmental law enforcement and jointly make more contributions to the sustainable development of China and to the world as a whole.
Fred Krupp thanked Zhou for his welcome and expressed willingness to strengthen exchanges with China and share their experiences and technologies on environmental protection.