Tsinghua University of China and Yale University of the United States will hold the first seminar on environment and sustained development for Chinese mayors in July this year.

Sources from the China Association of Mayors (CAM), the partner of the China-US seminar program, said Friday that the seminar program is regarded as an effective way to train more governors to care about China's environment.

On Thursday, the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies of Yale University, and the CAM signed a cooperation memorandum.

According to the agreement, the seminar will be held once a year, with each seminar lasting three weeks, attended by 30 Chinese mayors. The mayors will be trained both at the Tsinghua University and the Yale University.

A number of world-renowned domestic and overseas scholars and experts specialized on environment and urban development will be invited to give lectures at the seminar. This will help improve Chinese mayors' governing level and their understanding of the sustained development, said the CAM.

The CAM said each mayor will get a certificate jointly awarded by the two universities at the end of the seminar. The relevant teaching materials and studies cases about the seminar will also be published each year as reference to other Chinese mayors and officials.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2005)