Government chiefs said they were acting to achieve harmony between economic growth, ecosystems and population.

Great efforts have also been made to improve people's lives by preventing dangerous diseases and fighting pollution, said Vice-Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong.

Dozens of intermediate agencies - such as university-based science parks, productivity promotion centres and technology evaluation centres - have sprung up across the country to help apply relevant techniques, Li said.

He was speaking on the eve of the United Nations Forum on New Technology and Sustainable Development, which opens today in Beijing and runs until Wednesday.

The Chinese Government has taken a big stride towards developing the relatively poor western region and bridging regional disparities.

Li said his ministry will help popularize solar and wind energy technology, cultivate new materials and boost biomedicine industries in western regions.

And the ministry will guide regional governments to ensure sustainable development in view of the size, population and complex geography of the nation, said Li.

Sustainable development was put forward as a theme at the United Nation's Congress of Environment and Development, which took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It sets out ways to ensure global economic development is in harmony with population, the environment and natural resources.

China implemented the sustainable development strategy in 1994 under the guidance of the nation's Agenda 21 - white paper on population, environment and development for the 21st century.

Since then, the government has set up 40 State-level and 60 provincial-level pilot zones to carry out the strategy, according to the Administration Centre for China's Agenda 21.

These zones have played an active role in spreading water-saving technology among residential communities, introducing technology for combating industrial dust, reducing air pollution and treating garbage in urban areas.

The efforts have been acclaimed by the United Nations Development Programme and other international organizations, said centre director Wang Weizhong.

But a crucial issue for promoting sustainable development globally is how scientific research can offer cost-effective technology support for economic growth, minimizing damage to nature by human activities.

He suggested developed countries offer more development assistance to developing nations.

(China Daily April 15, 2002)