Jointly organized by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the workshop was held to make preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002 by exploring ways and specific measures to realize sustainable development and millennium development goals ahead of the meeting, according to Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Guangya.

Wang said at the opening ceremony that the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development which convened 10 years ago drew up a blueprint for sustainable development and mapped out a common approach for mankind to address the issues of the environment and development.

In 2000, world leaders gathered at the United Nations and issued a Millennium Declaration, which, by setting goals for every field of human endeavor, substantiated the concept of sustainable development in all fields of human activity.

The upcoming Johannesburg summit will review the development issue from a higher level and a more comprehensive perspective, so as to explore how to strengthen the sustainable development strategy in various countries and promote international cooperation in environmental and developmental issues.

Wang said China, a large developing country with rich natural resources, has always considered sustainable development an important economic and social development strategy. It has earnestly carried out its international commitments and has made tremendous efforts to improve the environment and realize economic and social development. As a result, China has made gratifying achievements in this respect, he added.

At the symposium, specialists from the Chinese State Development Planning Commission and UNDP discussed issues including the relationship between the millennium development goals and sustainable development, the implementation of a sustainable development strategy in China, and the energy problem in sustainable development.

(ChinaEnvironment.com July 22, 2002)