Beijing to Invest More to Tackle Environmental Problem

The Chinese capital will spend 45 billion yuan (some US$5 billion ) to improve its environment in the coming five years.

The focus will be on air pollution, announced Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing, who is leading the city's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. He said that the city has already allocated 33 billion yuan (US$4 billion), or 3.3 percent of the city's GDP, on environmental cleanup in the past five years.

The 3,000-year-old city has been suffering from a deteriorating environment since the early 1990s as a result of urban expansion and population explosion.

International media have listed Beijing as one of the most polluted capitals in the world.

To tackle the problem, the Beijing municipal government has taken a number of measures since the late 1990s, including controlling air pollution, reducing coal consumption, applying stringent auto emission rules, and increasing green space.

In 2000, about half of the year saw Beijing's air quality reaching or exceeding Level 2, or satisfactory, and Beijingers say they have found that the sky is clearer and water sweeter.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/