SOE 2004

CCP Central Committee Held National Symposium on Population, Resources and Environment

Mr. Hu Jintao, Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee chaired the Eighth National Symposium on Population, Resources, and Environment convened by the CCP Central Committee and made an important speech on March 10, 2004.

Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council met the International Members of CCICED at the time when the Third Meeting of the Third Phase of CCICED was held on October 29~31, 2004 and listened to their recommendations on sustainable agriculture and rural development of China.

The Law of People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Pollution by Solid Wastes was amended and adopted at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) on December 29, 2004. The State Council issued the "Measures on the Management of Operation License of Hazardous Wastes" on May 30, 2004. As a result, environmental laws and regulations of China have furthered enhanced.

In 2004, the Central Government convened the eighth Symposium on Population, Resources and Environment during the period when the annual meetings of NPC and CPPCC were held. Mr. Hu Jintao, General Secretary of CPC, clearly pointed out at the meeting: "To protect our environment, we shall enhance environmental supervision and management, accelerate environmental control of major river basins and regions and strengthen environmental protection work as well as the conservation of ecological environment". Premier Wen Jiabao said: "We shall enhance the efforts in environmental control with the emphasis on solving major problems in the conservation of ecological environment. We shall make effective prevention and control of the pollution in major river basins, regions, sea waters, cities and the river bed of the Three Gorges, reduce the total amount of pollutants and curd the rising trend of the emission of SO₂, soot and industrial dusts." CPC and the Central Government have presented clear requirements for environmental protection in terms of implementing scientific approach and building China into a socialist harmonious society. In order to implement the spirit of the "Symposium of the Central Government on Population, Resources and Environment", the State Council convened National On-the-Spot Meeting on Pollution Prevention and Control of Major River Basins in May and the "On-the-Spot Meeting on Pollution Prevention and Control of the Huaihe River Basin" in October of 2004, which have further promoted pollution prevention and control work of major river basins in China.

The environmental quality of 2004 basically remained the same compared with that of the previous year. Overall urban air quality was similar to that of 2003 with still heavy pollution in some cities. Acid rain pollution was on the trend of degradation. But there was no obvious change in the quality of surface water across China with relative good water quality in the Yangtze River and Zhujiang River, relative poor water quality in the Liaohe River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and Songhuajiang River and poor quality in Haihe River. The water quality of coastal sea waters basically kept the same as that of 2003. However, the East China Sea and Bohai Sea presented heavy pollution in coastal waters. On the whole, cities enjoyed good acoustic environment. Radioactivity pollution basically maintained at natural background level.