1. BACKGROUND

　　1.1 There is a common rule of economic development for most of the countries in the world which says that transportation always plays a primary promotional role for economic growth during the first stage of development. All developed countr ies have, in line with the above rule, experienced a period of massive transport ation development in order to support economic development.

　　1.2 Along with the transition from a command economy into a market one, China's economy developed rapidly, causing a steep increase in passenger and freight tra nsport demand. The rate of industrial growth can, however, only be maintained if basic services are continuously expanded. This applies especially to the transp ort sector. In addition, we must notice that China is a typical continental coun try, where the distribution of resources and the development of regional economi es are unbalanced. Also, there are many ethnic minorities, most of which are liv ing in the fringe areas of the country. These special situations gives transort a particularly important function in China's economic development. Although ther e have been a great number of large-scale projects in recent years, such as unde rground systems in some cities, urban ring roads, motorways, upgrading and elevt rification of major railway lines, construction r expansion of airports and harb or facilities and so forth, it is obvious that the present condition of the nati onal transport system is unable to meet the needs of modern economic development .

　　1.3 However, the required development of the transport sector generates a series of environmental problems. While the construction of additional highways, railw ays, airports and harbors will occupy farmland and many other land resources, th e pollution of air and water as well as noise pollution will become more serious . In some urban areas, population density is two or three times that of U. S. an d European cities. The expected corresponding increase in the number of motoried vehicles will be an additional factor affecting air quality. In order to coordi nate the development of the transport sectr on one hand, and environmental prote ction on the other, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environme nt and Development (CCICED) decided to establish a Transport Working Group (TWG) to act as a policy advisory body.

　　2. THE HISTORY OF TWG

　　2.1 In May of 1997, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperati on (MOFTEC) and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ ) arranged the 15th conference of the Chinese-German council on policy developme nt and cooperation. On this occusion, the "Cooperation Items of China National e nvironmental Protection Agency (NEPA)" were confirmed,and the German government agreed to provide 1.0 million Deutschmarks, over a period of three years, to fin ance the program.

　　2.2 At the first meeting of the second phase of CCICED from 3 to 5 October 1997, it was decided to set up the Transport Working Group mentioned above. Its prima ry task was to submit policy proposals, based on appropriate fact-finding activi ties, on how to balance the requirements of transport developmet and environment al protection.

　　2.3 On 24. February, 1998, the preparatory meeting on the establishment of TWG w a held in Beijing. This was attended by Mr. Baron, the designated chairman of in ternational group of advisers, the head of the Beijing GTZ office (GTZ being the executive agent of BMZ), and a number of Chinese experts. The participants exch anged, in detail, teir views concerning transport-sector priorities, organizatio n of TWG's activities, assignment of funds, budgeting, and the first-year workin g plan.

　　2.4 By June, 1998, nine Chinese and iternational experts had taken office. The C hinese group consists of six experts in transport and environment. Its chairman is Mr. Wang Yangzu of NEPA/SEPA, which provides for a closer relationship betwee n TWG and the government. The international group is made up of four experts fro m Germany and Switzerland. TWG also established a secretariat within the China R esearch Academy on Environmental Sciences (CRAES).

　　3. WORKING PLAN

　　3.1 The first plenaary session of TWG was held in Beijing from 12 to 16 July 199 8. While at the preparatory meeting on 24 February, 1998, Mr. Baron had suggeste d that all six relevant transport modes be treated within the three-year funding period, the Chinese experts voiced their reservations and proposed only the fol lowing three subjects be dealt with:

　　First year (1998. 2 to 1998. 9): Sustainable transort development strategies,

　　Second year (1998. 10 to 1999. 9): Urban transport and environment, and

　　Third year (1999. 10 to 2000. 9): integrated transport planning with an emphasis on highway transport.

　　This proposal was accepted by all TWG members.

　　3.2 It was also agreed that, during the duration of the program, there will be t wo seminars:

　　November, 1998: Urban transport and environment in China, and April, 2000: Highw ay transort and environment in China.

　　The purpose of the seminars is to collect a maximum of information ad suggestion s as regards the subjects dealt with, and to provide TWG with facts and figures to further investigate into the central issues. The seminars will be attended by all TWG members as well as a number of senior Chinese experts and managers fami liar with the issues at hand and te regional situation.

　　3.3 TWG plans to hold two plenary meeting each year. They will be organized in s uc a way that substantiated recommendations can be submitted, in good time, to t he CCICED meetings.

　　3.4 It was agreed upon that an international study tour for the Chinese members of TWG and two to three invited guests should take place in 1999, preferably in May. The tour will cover a number of places in Germany, Denmark and Switzerland with alterations possible. The third plenary TWG session will take place in fran kfurt (Germany) immediately following the study tour.

　　4. UP-TO-DATE ACTIVITIES OF TWG

　　4.1 As soon as TWG was officially installed, representatives of the State Planni ng Commission, the RailwayMinistry, the Ministry of Communications, the China Re search ACADEMy on Environmental Sciences, and of Tsinghua University were commis sioned to prepare altogether six discussion papers on a variety of issues. These were preseted at TWG's first plenary session which was attended by nine interna tional and local experts. Mr. Xie Zhenhua, minister of the State Environmental P rotection agency (SEPA), Mr. Zhang Kunmin, Secretary General of CCICED, and Ms. Sabine Mueller, representative of GTZ, were also present.

　　4.2 At the above meeting, in a lively exchange of views, the following consensus was reached:

　　·Strengthen the mcro-economic approach to transport planning, including environ mental issues.

　　·Avoid making environmental protection the key issue of transport development, but regard this as but one element (albeit an important one) of an integrated pl anning approach.

　　·Keep in mind that there are other important influencing factors, such as techn ical innovations to improve energy efficiency, intelligent transport management, social effects, promoting the use of non-motorised vehicles. (The latter is cls ely linked to urban planning concepts.)

　　·Strengthen international cooperation.

　　5. TWG ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF URBAN TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT

　　5.1 At the July plenary session, it was agreed that seven Chinese cities (Beijin g, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Dalian, Shenzhen and Guiyang) would be pilot cases. The outlines of a questionnaire were discussed. It was also decided that a number of Chinese TWG members should visit the above cities in order to explai n TWG's approach.

　　5.2 As stated earlier, the urban transport seminar will take place after the CCI CED meeting in November, 1998. Representatives of the selected cities will repor t o the current situation, existing problems and proposed measures to alleviate them. theinternational experts, Mr. Baron, Mr. Petersen and Mr. Braendli, will g ive an overview over the situation in Germany and Switzerland. Three working sub -groups will be installed in the fields of urban transport, transport management , and environmental protection.

　　6. THE ASSIGNMENT OF BMZ FUNDS AND BUDGETING

　　6.1 The German government will, over a period of three years, support TWG with a n amount of one million Deutschmarks (DM), of which 15 % are earmarked to cover GTZ overhead costs. Of the remaining 850,000 DM, 300,000 DM has been attributed to the Chinese section of TWG. The 300,000 DM amount has been budgeted as follow s:

　　10,000 DM - studies on Chinese transport and environment sustainable developemnt strategy

　　80,000 DM - Studies on the urban transport and environment

　　40,000 DM - Studies on the highway transport and environment

　　20,000 DM - The seminar in 1998

　　30,000 DM - Seminars in 1999 and 2000 at 15,000 DM

　　60,000 DM - The six plenary meetings at 10,000 DM each

　　60,000 DM - Study tour

　　The above budget will be controlled by GTZ Beijing.

　　7. PLANNED ACTIVITIES IN 1999

　　7.1 In early 1999, the seminar on "Urban Transport" will take place in beijing, following the Second Plenary Session of TWG. At the seminar, the reports of seve n selected cities will be discussed and the outline of proposal transport and en vironment will be discussed at the Second plenary session of TWG. Probably in Ma y 1999 the Chinese members of the TWG, plus 2 or 3 other high ranking experts, w ill be on a study tour in Eurioe (Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland). The Th ird Plenary Session of WGT will take place thereafter in combination with the st udy tour i Frankfurt/Main. Among other items, this will serve to discuss and lau nch the Study Program on "The Proposal of Urban Transport and Environment". At t he end of 1999 the TWG will have their Fourth Plenary Session and "The Highway T ransport and Environment" will be discussed at the meeting.