Priority should be given to the introduction of advanced foreign techniques when China seeks international cooperation in environmental protection, a senior Chinese official said.

"Only when environmental protection technologies become advanced, can China solve its various environmental problems," said Wang Zhijia, director-general of the department of international cooperation at the State Environmental Protection Administration.

He said China is in great need to upgrade technology in fields like air and water pollution control, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes, environmental management of chemicals and environmental monitoring.

China has been making efforts to attract financial aid from the world to invest in environmental protection.

For example, the Japanese government has proposed to set up a Sino-Japanese cooperation plan on environmental protection, in which the Japanese government will offer free aid of US$20 million for China to set up environmental information systems in 100 cities, according to Wang.

However, Wang added that China will face difficulties in using foreign investment as international financial institutions such as the World Bank will no longer offer preferential loans and donations for China.

Preferential loans and donations from developed countries will also be decreased dramatically, he added.

China has been working to push bilateral or multi-lateral environmental cooperation. So far the country has signed more than 30 bilateral agreements or memorandums on environmental protection with 27 countries and regions all over the world, Wang said.

China has also participated in more than 20 international conventions on the environment, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

Wang believes that it is a perfect time right now for China to develop cooperation with foreign countries in environmental protection.

Great opportunities have been created for China to make use of foreign investment in environmental protection after it became a member of the World Trade Organization, he added.

(China Daily February 4, 2002)