A senior environment official has called on Chinese companies to shift onto a "green" development track.

"It is the social responsibility of companies, given the needs of China's current situation, and driven by international trends," said Pan Yue, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

He pointed out that although China is now the largest manufacturer in the world, it is also suffering the most serious loss of natural resources.

China's energy consumption per unit of GDP is seven times that of Japan and six times that of the United States.

In the past 50 years, China's population has doubled, growing from 600 million to 1.3 billion, but its habitable land area has dropped from about 6 million to 3 million square kilometres.

"Several years ago people were hailing the fact China had become the 'workshop for the world,' and I was one of them.

"But now we can see this 'workshop for the world' means that we, using our resources, produce low-level industrial products for developed countries and bear the harm of pollution, only to gain small profits," said Pan.

China should not continue along this path, he stressed.

Turning to the international scene, Pan said the so-called "green barriers" set up by developed countries in international trade have more and more impacted on China's foreign trade. "Green barriers" mean strict environmental standards are imposed on imported products.

At the same time, China has signed a number of international conventions on environmental protection, which also require industries to become environmentally friendly.

"The Chinese Government will certainly adopt stricter environmental standards, which add to companies' costs, and introduce polices that encourage companies to conduct green production," Pan said.

Developing a circular economy is the only choice for China to achieve a balance between economic development and environmental protection.

A circular economy, one which uses energy and resources most efficiently, is being widely promoted across the country.

Some places, including Guiyang in Guizhou Province in the southwest, are developing circular economies experimentally. Guiyang's legislature has even passed a regulation on the development of circular economy.

"It has become a trend that companies recycle useful materials in waste to lower their costs and earn more profits," said Pan.

Other policies necessary for China to seek sustainable development, including the implementation of "green GDP," which takes into account environmental protection when assessing officials' performance, ensure public participation in environmental protection, he said.

"Green GDP" involves making a deduction for environmental costs from GDP. The administration announced in February that 10 municipalities and provinces had started experimental work to carry out the calculating method.

In another development, more than 100 Chinese companies jointly vowed to shoulder the responsibility of environmental protection on Saturday in Beijing at a forum on "Green China."

They agreed that only when Chinese companies take the lead in green design, green production and green service can they gain advantages in worldwide competition.

(China Daily June 20, 2005)