On Sep. 24, MEP Vice Minister Zhou Jian met with visiting State Secretary for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, Mr. Jean Daniel Gerber, in Beijing. They exchanged views on cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Zhou Jian first welcomed Jean Daniel Gerber on behalf of Minister Zhou Shengxian and briefed him on the latest development of China's environmental protection. He said, "The Chinese government has always attached great importance to environmental protection and has made it a basic state policy. The government also regards sustainable development as a basic strategy, striving for harmony between man and nature which is an important objective of building a well-off society in an all-round way. It proposed the major strategic thinking of acquiring and implementing Scientific Outlook on Development and creating a harmonious socialist society. A string of measures have been taken to speed up the building of a resource-efficient and environment-friendly society."

Zhou Jian noted, "In the face of the growing pressure on resources and environment, the Chinese government made it clear that the overall socioeconomic development should be guided by Scientific Outlook on Development and accelerated efforts are needed to build a resource-efficient and environment-friendly society, promoting harmonious development between man and nature. The authority put energy conservation and environmental protection in a more important position while identifying development goals and push for the achievement of Three Transformations: First, we will transform the past development mode preferring economic growth to environmental protection into the one focusing on both economic growth and environmental protection. We will take environmental protection as an important tool for economic restructuring and the change of economic growth pattern and seek development with sound environment. Second, we will transform the situation of environmental protection lagging behind economic development into the one where the two advance at the same pace. That is to say, we will duly dealing with present environmental problems while solving historically-left environmental issues as many as we can. In doing so, we will get rid of the past practice of 'pollution first, treatment afterwards or environmental treatment goes hand in hand with new contamination'. Third, we will transform the past approach dominated by administrative tools in protecting the environment into the one that comprehensively utilizes legal, economic, technical and necessary administrative methods to address environmental problems. We will voluntarily observe economic and natural laws and improve the quality of environmental protection work."

Zhou Jian added, "as a major country in the EU, Switzerland owns abundant experience and advanced technologies in the field of environmental protection. China is ready to strengthen environmental cooperation with it. We hope both sides will further mutual understanding and communications at work level and negotiate cooperation mode so as to start bilateral environmental cooperation as early as possible. "

Jean Daniel Gerber appreciated China's efforts in protecting the environment and wished to develop environmental cooperation as soon as possible, jointly making unremitting efforts to environmental protection.