East China's Yangtze River Delta region and south China's Pearl River Delta Region should cooperate to promote the regional environmental protection, officials said on the International Forum on Regional Environmental Cooperation held in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province on Friday.

"By sharing costs in environmental protection, both regions of China's most developed economy, will make contributions to the sustainable development of China," said Chen Qingtai, deputy director with the Development Research Center of the State Council(DRC).

"To realize the goal of scientific development, although it's a common course of the country, developed regions should shoulder more responsibilities," said Chen.

As one of the most developed regions of China, the Yangtze River Delta region has boasted the conditions to realize regional environmental cooperation beyond administrative boundaries of regions, said Chen.

"To achieve achievements of regional environmental cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region will be of great significance to the sustainable development of the whole country," said Chen.

According to statistics by the State Environmental Protection Administration, water quality of nearly half of China's cities and towns are below the state standard. Some one third of the territory is affected by acid rain. And the water quality of seven major water systems including the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Huaihe River is below the standard of utilization.

Nearly one hundred officials and experts from the State Environmental Protection Administration, the Development Research Center of the State Council, the Ministry of Science and Technology and east China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai Municipality attended the forum, which was sponsored by the People's Daily (Overseas Edition), the EDF and the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University.
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2004)