The Chinese State Council has designated 113 key cities for air pollution control. Of the 113 cities, 39 are required to maintain their existing standards for the content of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter and the rest will have to attain state-prescribed standards by 2005.

The designation is made in line with China's air pollution control bill. Of the 113 cities, 47 are metropolitans directly under the jurisdiction of the national government, provincial capitals and coastal open cities. The rest are cities under the jurisdiction of prefectures and cities where cultural and tourist relics call for urgent protection.

Among them, 39 cities have already attained the targets for atmospheric environmental quality standards.

The State Environmental Protection Administration urged the key cities to take active measures to ensure that they attain the set targets for air quality. The cities are asked to restructure their energy structure by availing of the projects to transmit natural gas and electricity from Western to Eastern China.

The measures include popularization of clean production, control of automobile exhaust gas and construction site dust, improvement of environmental legislature and monitoring and regular announcement of information about air quality.

(www.cenews.com.cn December 10, 2002)