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| China's Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian gives a speech at the Environmental Protection and Urban Responsibilities Forum in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, July 3, 2010. The forum, a theme event of the Shanghai World Expo, opened here Saturday, attracting more than 600 officials and scholars from around the world. |
NANJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- China's government is exploring new approaches to protect the environment and to deal with the heightening conflict between environmental protection and economic growth, said Zhou Shengxian, Environmental Protection Minister, Saturday.
China took only 30 years to have the environmental problems that had gradually emerged in developed countries over 200 to 300 years, said Zhou at a theme forum of the Shanghai World Expo in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.
"As a big developing country with a population of 1.3 billion people, China is under unprecedented pressure for both economic development and environmental protection," he said.
"Therefore, we have to learn lessons from other countries, continue to reform and explore new approaches to protect the environment."
The "new approaches" should feature "low cost, good returns, low emissions and sustainability," he said.
However, he did not elaborate on what the new approaches were.
"While achieving targets for economic development, we have to make sure that 1.3 billion people drink clean water, breathe fresh air and eat safe food," he said.
Special Report: World Expo 2010
