Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun, China's representative to the 13th session of the UNIDO General Conference, said in Vienna on Monday that China considers green industry the direction of economic development in the future.

At the 13th session of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) General Conference, Yi pointed out that "low-carbon economy, green industries, energy saving and new energy are where future economic growth will come from."

Therefore, countries need to align their near-term economic priorities with long-term economic prospects. "While enabling economic recovery, we should optimize the energy mix, promote industrial upgrading and develop green economies," he said.

In his speech, Yi also introduced the measures China has taken in this area. In response to the serious impact of the global financial crisis and growing domestic energy and environmental constraints, the Chinese government has adopted such measures as maintaining growth, expanding domestic demand and readjusting economic structure.

He said: "The 'readjusting economic structure' part of the strategy aims to transform China's mode of industrial growth, improve the industrial structure and follow the road of green industrial development."

"The Chinese government remains committed to the basic state policy of resources conservation and environmental protection and to the national strategy of realizing sustainable growth," he stressed.

The Chinese government therefore decided that "by 2020 it would reduce per unit GDP CO2 emission by 40 percent to 45 percent from the level of 2005, which as a binding target will be incorporated into China's medium and long-term plan for socioeconomic development."

Yi also noted that the global financial crisis that started in 2008 had posed serious challenges to countries around the world in their economic development, in particular industrial development. Developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), were the hardest hit in this crisis.

There was an urgent need to revive the economy by developing industry. Therefore, the Chinese government "welcomes the timely and significant topic of this conference, which is green industry and opportunities for developing countries," he said.

He pointed out that in the field of development cooperation, China's proposition described as the old Chinese saying was that "teaching others how to fish is better than giving fish."

Countries should help and cooperate with each other to share their experience in developing economies, as a "collective response to global challenges," he said.

Yi also stressed at the conference that the Chinese government believes that "South-South cooperation opens up more resources and options for such cooperation and is a valued addition to South-North cooperation."

With regard to the issue of China in the South-South cooperation, he noted that at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced policy measures in 8 categories, and the committed measures had been implemented.

Moreover, he said, at the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in early November 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled 8 new measures for promoting China-Africa cooperation in the next three years.

China would cooperate with developing countries in many fields like climate change, science and technology, finance, trade, agriculture, healthcare, human capital development, education and people exchange, he said.

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