Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan called on Chinese scientists to further explore ocean and polar regions on Monday.

Zeng, who was visiting the State Oceanic Administration in Beijing, extended greetings to the expedition team stationed in polar regions.

The heavy snow in China in recent weeks had made people realize more about the importance in exploring and understanding the laws of nature to adapt to the extreme climate changes, he said.

"In the past year, China has made progress in exploring the oceans and the polar regions. In the new year, we should extend greater support to this field and speed up the exploration of the oceans and the polar areas."

He encouraged the scientists to make more contributions to the peaceful utilization of polar areas and a coordinated development between human being and nature.

Chinese scientists left Shanghai on Nov. 12 for the country's 24th scientific expedition to Antarctica since 1984.

China also conducted two Arctic expeditions and built the Huanghe (Yellow River) exploration station there in 2004.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)