Ladies and gentlemen,

　　Friends,

　　Today, we are gathered here again in Beijing to provide policy consultancy to China for its environment and development. Please allow me to offer my warmest welcome and heartfelt thanks to friends from all over the world.

　　Since UNCED in 1992, sustainable development strategies have been gradually accepted by the international community and become a basic guideline for various countries in their understanding and solution of the integration between environment and development. Among all efforts towards sustainable development, comprehensive policy-making for environment and development is a key point. Traditional development models pose serious threat to human sustainable development. One of the fundamental reasons for that is that many development policies are made when consideration for environment is put aside. Therefore, to follow sustainable development, it is imperative that we start from comprehensive policy-making. That is to place environmental considerations on the agenda when policies are being ma de for principles, programmes and management. Efforts should be made to combine economy, society and environment through improvement or change of policy-making process. In a word, correct policies are a prerequisite for the healthy progress of economy.

　　China has started to pay attention to the issue when it is striving to carry out sustainable development. In making economic and social policies, such as those for industry, agriculture, transportation, trade and finance, etc., we have give n increasingly more importance to environment. The Third Environmental Protection Committee of the State Council not only reviews environmental programmes and policies, but also assesses and reviews the environmental impact of economic development programmes and major economic policies. China's Agenda 21 approved by the State Council not long ago helps this principle of comprehensive policy-making to run through the formulation and implementation of various policies.

　　However, no matter whether it is to change traditional development models or traditional policy-making methods or process, it requires a rather long period of time. The establishment of such a mechanism needs unremitting effort in the field s of legislation, organization and public participation, etc.

　　This is where our Council has a unique role to play. Comprehensive policy-making is an open process, which needs information from outside. I hope that we will achieve high-level results through hard work, so that we could make contributions to the establishment and improvement of such a mechanism.

　　I wish the meeting a great success.

　　Thank you.