During his tour of Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Sept. 12-14, Former Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke brought solar energy hi-tech to the underdeveloped northwest China city.

Hawke praised the city's environmental protection efforts while visiting its lakes and wetlands, noting Australia and China could learn from each other on the subject.

Knowing Yinchuan has abundant solar energy, he introduced advanced solar energy application technologies to the city.

Hawke also visited the city's huge Administration Hall, which houses various government departments to speed up registration and approval procedures for businesses and individuals, saying Australia should adopt this practice.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2002)