Gistinguished Mr.Chairman,Members and Esperts.

　　I am very pleased to have this opportunity to attend this annual meeting of CCIC ED.Please allow me to brief you all on behalf of SEPA about China's implementati on of relevant international environmental conventions or agreements and some ne w progress in the environmental protection of China.

　　1/IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MONTREAL

　　PROTOCOL ON SUBSTANCES THAT DEPLETE

　　THE OZONE LAYER

　　China has made substantial progress in implementing the Montreal Protocol,First, China has successfully banned the use of CFC in the aerosol sector as the first initiative to ban the sectoral use of CFC.This symbolizes that China has entered the phase of compulsory phaseout of ozond depoeting substances(ODS),Secondly,th e production quotalicensing system has been implemented to the halon sector,Thir dly,through strengthening the supervision and management of new production facil ities manufacturing and using ODS,the trend of increasing use of ODS has been co ntrolled,which layw a basis for achieving the CFC freeze target in 1999 .

　　China has also actively strengthened the basic work for the implementation of th e Montreal Protocol,The indications of such efforts are mainly in updating of th e China Country Program.selecting economically feaible substitution technologies ,proposing more operational phaseout programs and policy framework,joint conveni ng of Interational Workshop on Updating Chna Country Program and Policy Formulat ion with UNEP and UNDP.formulation of a sectoral phaseout plan based on the deta iled surveys of ODS consumption and its use in the sectors of cleansing agents,a utomobile air conditioners, foaming and tobacco as well as CFC production and sa les,We have also held children's painting competitions to support ozone layer pr otection in China.

　　The ODS phaseout in China has received the wupport from the international commun ity.By October 1998 China has been granted USD 250 million from the Multilateral Fund under the Montreal Protocol,which has strongly helped promote the implemen tation of the Montreal Protocol in China.

　　2. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BASEL CONVENTION

　　ON CONTROL OF TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT

　　OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND THEIR DISPOSAL

　　The Chinese government has taken effective measures to strictly implement the Ba sel Convention,China has released a list of hazardous wastes according to the re quirement of the Basel Convention. China is enforcing the Law of olid Waste Prev ention and Control and relevant regulations,China has made more stringent proced ures for approval of waste imports and is determined to prevent hazardous wastes and "foreign waster"from entering China,According to the revised Criminal Law,t hose engaged in the illegal import of "foreign wastes"will be penalized.The Asia -Pacific Regional Center for Training and Technology Transfer for Sound Manageme nt of Hazardous Wastes has been established in Tsinghua University according to the relevant decision of COP 3 to the Basel Convention.The China-Denmark coopera tive projct for formulating China Couvtry Action Program for Implementing the Ba sel Convention in China is being smoothly implemented.

　　Currently,China lacks the facilities for disposal of hazardous wastes,a small am oubnt of which need to be exported for disposal,However,China will strictly foll ow the provisions of the Basel Convention and the regulations of the receiving c ountry.The competent authouity will approve the wxport only after it notifies in writing the competent authority of the receiving country and the receivingcount ry accepts and ensures that the exported hazardous wastes will be disposed of in an environmentally safe way.

　　3. IMPLEMENTATIO OF THE CONVENTION ON

　　BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

　　The Chinese gorernment has established the National Coordinating Group for Imple mentation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),which is headed by the State Environmental Protection Adminitration,Involving more than 20 departments ,it will strengthen the guidance and coordination of the implementation of CBD n China and show that the China Biodiversity Action Plan is being seriously imnpl emented.The China-UNEP cooperative project on biodiversity data management was c ompleted in September 1997,This project played an active role in enhancing China 's capacity to manage the network of biodiversity information,The China Biodiver sity Country Study,which was funded by UNEP,has been approved by the State Counc il for public release.The First National Report of China on Implementation of CB D was completed in October 1997as the first one of such submitted by the Chinese government to the CBD Secretariat,Two GEF-funded projects (Natrue Reserves in C hina and Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity of Wetland in China )a re now being serously implemented.In February 1998,China completed and issued an edition on Bird of Red Data of Endangered Animals.

　　Starting in 1993,for five consecutive years,China has conducted a nationwide inv estigation on the enforcement of environmental laws,and has penalized illegal hu nting and trade in endangered wild plants and animals.After a joint survey of th e national nature reserves,SEPA,the Ministry of Finance,the Ministry of Agriculu re,the State Forestry Bureau and three other departments presented a joint repor t to the State Council recommending the strengthening of the management of natur e reserves,In August 1998 ,the Administrative Office of the State Council issued a Notice on Strengthening the Management of Nature Reserves,in which clear requ irements were made towards the construction of nature reserves.

　　China is taking active measures to undertake in-situ conservation of biodiversit y,By the end of 1997,China had established 926 nature reserves,with a total area up to 76.979 million hectares,accounting for 7.64% of the total land area of co untry and exceeding the world average.

　　4.STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL

　　PROTECTION

　　As a developing country ,we know quite well that to maintain a good environment in China is not only a benefit to our own people and future generations but is a lso a contribution to the whole world ,In 1998,the newly established State Envir onmental Protection Administration formulated the National Environmental Protect ion Program for 1998-2002,It analyzed the opportunities and difficulties we are facing in the field of environmental protection,identified the direction and obj ectives for the work in the next five years,and laid out the main tasks and meas urs for achieving these objectives across the century as roposed from seven pers pectives,This program requires the continued implmentation of the policy of envi ronmental protection as one of the state principal policies,the implementation o f the two strategies of revitalizing the nation with science,technology and educ ation and sustainable development ,the practicing of the approach to give equal importance to the environmental pollution control and ecological conservation,th e implementation of two measures such as the total-amount control and China Gree n Projects Plan,the establishment of decision-making mechanisms for the environm ent and the development of rules for environmental investment,joint supervision and monitoring of the environment.and the public participation and further stren gthentng of international cooperation,all of which will create a new situation f or environmental protection,Currently the environmental departments at all level s in China are doing their work as required by this program.

　　4.1 Putting into Practice Two Major Measures

　　Now all the localities are implementing the total-amout control plan and the Chi na Trans-century Green Projects Plan.The total-amount plan has been specified an d assigned to various provinces,The implementation of more than 700 projects in GPP has started,with an investment of Rmb 86.89 billion yuan in place for these projects,accounting for 46%of the total investment required,This year the countr y has increased an additional Rmb 20 billion yuan for the construction of enviro nmental imfrastructure,Considerable progress has been made in the pollution cont rol of key river basins and regions,Pollution control is being undertaken compre hensively in three rivers and lades,two zones and one city,which are the nationa l priorities for pollution control,In the Huai River Basin,an investment of Rmb 4.485 billion yuan has been made to treat the pollutants from morm than 2,600 en terprises,More than 5,700polluting enterprises have been closed or transferred t o other production (of the total,111 enterprises were small pulp-making factorie s with annual capacity lower than 5000 tons), which has reduced the pollution lo ad on the river basin by 40%, The objective that all the industrial enterprises compay with the pollutant discharhing standards at the end of 1997 has been achi eved, which has resulted in the considerable improvement of the water quality of the main strian. This year, further efforts are being made to accelerate the wa ter quality of the main stream. This year, further efforts are being made to acc elerate the construction of municipal waste water treatment facilities based upo n the work done en the past year. In the Tai Lake Basin, the governments of the provinces and cities around the lake are taking effective measures to ensure tha t at the end of this year,all the industrial enterpreses, aquaculture farms and hotels and restaurants on the lake side will comply with the pollutant dischargi ng standards.Air pollution control in two zones has been initiaied, covering a t otal area of 10.9 million km2, accounting for 11.4% of the total land area of th e country and covering 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipaliuies direc tly under central jurisdiction. The main measures for controlling SO2 and acid r ain ollution is to grakually limit and stop high-sulfur mines with coal exceedin g 3 % of sulfur, to select and clean coal, to fobrbid the establishment of new c oal - fired power plants near the big cities, to phase out small coal - fired po wer generation facilities and units, to require all the new coal - fired power p lants to install the equipment for desulfurization and to require the use of bri quettes in the industrial and municipal boilers. In order to solveits problems o f pollution,Beijing is taking many measures, including the improvement of the ci ty's energy structure, promotion of the use of low - sulfur and high -quality co al, expansion of areas of integrated heating, prevention of coal - fired polluti on, strengthening of management of construciton, increased use of machine water cleaning an expansion of cleaned areas to prevent dust, the strict implementatio n of rules concerning the abandoning of old cars and ban on sales of autos with below standard exhaust emissions, ban of use of leaded gasoline to prevent the p ollution from vehicle exhausts, protection of drinking water sources, strengthen ing of drainage of water channels,and the improvement of water quality.

　　4.2 Urban Environmental Protection

　　According to national regulations, the use of leaded gasoline will be banned nat ionwide by the year 2000. Currently Beijing, Nanjing andsome other cities have f orbidden the use of leaded gasoline. Beijing, Nanjing and 44 other cities ar iss uing weekly reports on their air quality. The quantitative examination of enviro nmental comprehensive improvement has covered 510 cities.Sie cities - Zhangjiaga ng, Dalian, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Zhuhai and Weihai - have been awarded "National En vironmental Model City" due totheir outstanding achievements in environmental pr otection while quickly advancing their local economy.

　　4.3 Equal Importance to Pollution Prevention and Control and Ecological Conserva tion

　　Currently SEPA is formulating the National Program for Ecological Conservation w hich aims to strengthen the work in this field.The main measures in this program include surveying the real state of ecological damage, formulation of plans for ecological protection, identification of special protected areas for important river sources, adoption of compulsory protection measures, strengthening environ mental supervision and management over the natural resources development zones. Other important measures include the issuing deadlines to those organizations th at damage the environment to control this damage and recover from it, ensuring t hat towns and villages undertake environmental planning and comprehensive enviro nmental improvement, improving the energy stucture, developing clean energy reso urces, strengthening of waste recycling, controlling municipal pollution and the pollution from agricultural chemicals,fertilizers, membranes and domesticated a nimal farming, strengthening eco - farming and constuction of ecological village s and towns, establishing an number of rural ecological demonstration areas, and accelerating the development of organic food in an planned way.

　　As a developing coutry,China is faced with the dual task of developing its econo my and protecting the environment. The Chinese government is implementing and wi ll continue to implement international environmental conventions and agreements with a high sense of responsibility. We hope, through the creative work of all C CICED members and experts, to promote extensive cooperation between China and go vernments of other countries and international organizations.We also need to coo perate with the international community of finance, science and technology, and industry and commerce organizations in introducing technology and financing from these countries and organization so that we can draw on the experience and expe rtise of others. In this way we will discover the short cuts to improving our im plementation of international environmental agreements and thus the protection o f our environment.

　　Thank you all.