Environmental Protection Crucial in West China Development: British AmbassadorEnvironmental protection is crucial in the economic development of China's western region, said Anthony Charles Galsworthy, British Ambassador to China, in this capital of southwest China's Yunnan province.Galsworthy, who is a here to attend a meeting on economic and social development, said the British government has launched two cooperation programs with the Yunnan provincial government, the poverty-relief and sustained development program and the program on water management and hygiene. Numerous elite international enterprises, British ones included, wish to invest in China's west, said the ambassador. The local government should therefore enhance contacts with the chambers of commerce of different countries in China, he said. Britain, the largest recipient of foreign investment in Europe, boasts rich experience which may be helpful to China, said Galsworthy. He suggested the provincial government should select advantageous sectors for overseas investment, such as the mining sector. On the other hand, the government should encourage innovation in the biotech sector, he added. Official statistics show that by the end of 2000, Yunnan province had approved a total of 1,960 overseas-invested companies, involving a contractual investment of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the total materialized overseas investment had reached 1.4 billion U.S. dollars. Vice Governor Shao Qiwei said Yunnan will offer more promising projects and an optimized environment to overseas investors. |
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