China Expands Int'l Environmental CooperationChina has strengthened the implementation of international environment conventions during the 1996-2000 period and introduced more advanced technology and funds from international organizations for environmental protection.Statistics show that China is the country which introduces the biggest amount of investment from the Global Environment Fund (GEF). Since the establishment of the GEF in 1992, China has utilized 230 million US dollars, with 150 million US dollars of it materialized between 1996 and 1999. To better carry out the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, China has taken effective measures to develop freon substitutes, which helps the country meet the standards of the convention ahead of schedule. And China's products using environmental-friendly coolants have been exported to developed countries in big quantities. In 1996, the Chinese government and the United Nations jointly sponsored an international meeting on the implementation of the China 21st Century Agenda which is closely related to the country's sustainable development. This has drawn great concern from the international community for pilot projects on the agenda. Some 31 international organizations, financial institutes, foreign governments and enterprises participated in the implementation of those pilot projects with a total investment of 1.945 billion U.S. dollars, of which 35 percent is from foreign sponsors. |
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