Zhu made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese and foreign officials and experts who are attending an annual conference of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.

Established in 1992, the council is a senior advisory body for the Chinese government on environment and development. Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao chairs the council and Leonard Good, president of the Canadian International Development Agency, is one of the co-vice-chairmen of the council.

Zhu said that the Chinese government has realized the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development over the past years and has injected an unprecedented amount of money into the cause.

He praised members of the council for their efforts to help China's environmental protection work, and thanked them for their suggestions in environmental protection and achieving sustainable development in China's western region.

Good and Crispin Tickell, chairman of the British Government Panel on Sustainable Development, among other foreign members of the council, said they were very impressed by the progress China made in environmental protection over the past few years.

(People's Daily 11/03/2000)