Fifty-five industrial plants in northeast China's Liaoning province have closed or suspended production or change business line because they were highly energy consuming or seriously pollutant.

According to sources from the Provincial Administration of Environment Protection, most of these plants were involved in textiles, printing and dyeing, paper making, and architecture materials industries.

Liaoning Province, one of China's major industrial bases, is burdened with environmental pollution tasks. The 1,430-km-long Liaohe River, running through the province, is listed among the most polluted rivers to undertake key river treatment projects in the country.

The State Council required all industrial plants to control their emission of polluting matters under a set safety amount by the year 2000. And some 50 percent of the industrial plants have so far met the requirement.

Officials said that the provincial government will upgrade the traditional industries with high and new technologies and develop and popularize clean industries to resolve their environmental problems.