Mr. Chairman,

　　First, I wish to thank Council Chairman Dr. Song Jian, as well as Vice-Chairs Dr. Labelle, Mr. Gu Ming and Mr. Qu Geping, for their contributions to the Council.

　　The work of the Council in the past five years has indeed been creative and productive.

　　The creativity of the Council is manifested in two aspects. First, the Council is a very special form of international cooperation. Like a group of doctors who meet together to make a diagnosis of a patient, experts from all over the world gather in the Council to seek solutions to China's environmental problems. As far as I know, there are very few such organizations in the world. And in this regard, the Council merits emulation elsewhere in the world.

　　Secondly, the structure and process of the Council are also creative and effective. The Working Groups, which consist of a large number of prominent experts, form a large scientific base of the Council. The recommendations of these experts and scientists are reported to the Council, and then to the highest-level leaders via Council Chairman Song Jian. This process enables the Council to propose its recommendations to the state leaders in a very efficient way.

　　The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has been actively involved in the activities of the Working Groups. As far as I know, dozens of scientists have participated in the activities of the Working Groups. During this process, they have learned a lot from their prominent international counterparts. CAS will continue to support and make greater contributions to the Council.

　　Thank you, Mr. Chairman.