Minister Zhou Shengxian met with his visiting Japanese counterpart Kamoshita Ichiro on December 1 on the occasion of the first China-Japan High-level Economic Dialogue. Both sides exchanged views on further cooperation in the environment field.

Mr. Zhou firstly sincerely welcomed Mr. Kamoshita for his visit and then introduced the latest developments of China's environmental protection work. He said, in the course of rapid socio-economic growth, China still faces serious environmental situation. The Government has paid close attention to this and constantly made greater efforts in this field. At the 17th National Congress of the CPC, which was held not long before, the environmental protection was highlighted in a more strategic status. The report of the National Congress has made overall arrangements for the targets, tasks, policies and measures for the environmental protection and proposed the concept of ecological civilization. It is a landmark signaling that the environmental protection has been mainstreamed into the country's social and economic life and it faces unprecedented opportunities for development. For the moment, local areas and all sectors are actively implementing the Integrated Work Plan for Energy Saving and Emissions Reduction and the National Climate Change Programme issued by the State Council. We will, following the guidelines of the 17th National Congress, further promote the historical transformations in the environmental field and try to make progress in all tasks.

Minister Zhou Shengxian pointed out that Chinese Government are determined and full of confidence in improving the environmental quality, and the steady progress made in this field also opens wider scope for international environmental cooperation. China and Japan are friendly neighbors and enjoy solid foundation for cooperation in environment field. He is glad that the environmental authorities of both countries have signed the Agreement of Intent on the Cooperation on Studies and Demonstration Projects on Synergies, which will enable bilateral ties in environment field to be more pragmatic and fruitful.

Mr. Kamoshita highly commented the progress made in China in the environment field. He expected both sides to strengthen ties and conduct closer cooperation in more areas like environmental supervision, environment and health, environmental education, and sandstorm treatment, so as to contribute more to the worldwide environmental protection.