China will introduce new motor vehicle emission standards in 2007, a move that should cut automobile pollutants by 30 percent, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced.

The new standards are equivalent to the Euro III standard implemented in EU member states, Zhao Yingmin, head of SEPA's Department of Science, Technology and Standards told Xinhua, adding that a more stringent standard, equivalent to Euro IV will take effect in 2010.

Under the Euro III standard, the maximum permissible content of sulfur in gas emissions is 0.015, which is much lower than the 0.050 maximum permitted under Euro II, currently in force in China.

As the world's third largest automobile producer, China churns out an annual production of more than five million vehicles, and there are an estimated thirty million vehicles on its roads. In key cities like Beijing, motor vehicles have become the major source of air pollution.

China enforced the Euro II emission standard nationwide in September 2003, with major cities like Beijing and Shanghai having enforced it earlier in 2002 and March 2003 respectively.

The new standard would produce a major environmental dividend, and raise the international competitiveness of Chinese auto producers by forcing them to upgrade technologies, Zhao said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)