On September 2, MEP Vice Minister Li Ganjie met with David Bohigian, the visiting Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce and his retinue. Both sides exchanged views on intensifying the cooperation on the environmental market.

Li Ganjie first introduced as proposed to the guests some information about establishing the Ministry of Environmental Protection. He said, the 1st meeting of the 11th National People's Congress this year adopted the decision to establish Ministry of Environmental Protection, which signified the close attention paid by the State to environmental protection. The birth of this Ministry not only means enhanced supervision force and law enforcement force of the environmental protection department but also marks the shift of its general functions. For the future, the Ministry will, in terms of making environmental policies and plans and coordinating major issues, enhance the general administration, macro coordination and public service functions, and further promote the important tasks related to pollution prevention and control and ecological protection.

Li Ganjie also said, China had made an important step in establishing the environmental management regimes and mechanisms, and the step enabled us to be more confident and resolved in achieving the environmental targets set in the 11th Five-Year Plan. However, China still faces serious environmental situation. To solve the country's environmental problems needs not only our own efforts, but also vigorous international cooperation, and the study and introduction of advanced environmental protection concepts and technologies. He was glad that Mr. Bohigian led U.S. delegation of clean energy and environmental protection to China, which provided the opportunity for both sides to exchange views on intensifying bilateral environmental cooperation. For the moment, with the increasingly more efforts devoted to environmental protection in China, a huge and vigorous environmental market is being in shape. During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China will invest much more in major environmental protection projects on solid wastes disposal, urban sewage treatment, and desulfurization in coal-fired power plants, and emphasize on improving relevant equipment and developing technologies, which will generously expand the demands of environmental industries. He said, "We hope U.S. environmental enterprises to compete in Chinese market with excellent environmental management experience, technologies and equipment, so that we can achieve win-win. "

Mr. Bohigian admired China's leap-forward progress in environmental protection and hoped that both sides would develop a long-term dialogue mechanism and cooperation platform, have more fruitful cooperation in environmental field and contribute more to the development of environmental cause.