The white paper on Environmental Protection in China (1996-2005) was issued by the Information Office of China's State Council.

    The white paper says over the past years, China and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have conducted fruitful cooperation in the fields of desertification prevention and control, biodiversity protection, ozone layer protection, etc. China has also established, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other international organizations, effective modes of cooperation.

    China has actively participated in the environmental protection and sustainable development activities under the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and attended all the APEC environment ministerial meetings. China's efforts for environmental protection have been acknowledged and praised by the international community. By the end of 2005, the UNEP had conferred the "Global 500 Award" on 22 units and six persons in China.

    So far, China has acceded to more than 50 international conventions on environmental protection, and has been active in performing the obligations stipulated in these conventions. The Chinese government has made clear the key fields and action plans of sustainable development for the early 21st century.

    China has drawn up more than 100 policies and measures in relation to the protection of the ozone layer, met the phasing-out target set in the Montreal Protocol. According to a World Bank estimate, the amount of ozone-layer-depleting substances that China has eliminated accounts for 50 percent of the total amount eliminated by all the developing countries.

    The white paper stresses that China has consolidated and promoted its cooperation with neighboring countries and regions involved, and actively participated in the construction of a regional cooperation mechanism. Together with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), it has established a mechanism for environment ministers to meet to hold regular policy exchanges and discussions of environmental issues of common concern. After the launching of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Environmental Cooperation mechanism, the first GMS environment ministers' meeting was successfully held in 2005, which spelled out the biodiversity conservation corridor program for the subregion and other cooperative projects.

    China has been active in bilateral cooperation in environmental protection, the white paper says. It has signed bilateral agreements or memorandums of understanding on such cooperation with the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia and 38 other countries, and signed bilateral agreements or memorandums of understanding on nuclear security cooperation with 11 countries. In addition, it has carried out several environmental cooperation programs with the European Union, Japan, Germany, Canada and nine other countries or international organizations with bilateral assistance gratis. China is also active in environmental cooperation and exchanges with developing countries.