Minister of Environmental Protection Shengxian Zhou of China
Zhou said at the press conference that the two governments have conducted "all-round" and "satisfactory" cooperation and "there is no difference on any issues" between the two sides.
Zhou said that research indicated only a small amounts of the toxic chemical within the ice and that the quantity that could be entrapped in the sediment was limited by its structure as composed mostly of sand.
Zhou has also stated that the joint program with Russia to monitor boundary rivers will continue.
Zhou was born in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Zhou said the company, since it was opened three and half years ago, had paid 10 million yuan (1.
Zhou said the core principle of the Scientific Concept of Development, promoted by the government, was "people first.
Zhou said the administration would improve the monitoring of heavy polluting industries and step up efforts to reduce industrial waste.
Zhou said China will step up measures to control pollution caused by farming.
Zhou said the administration will also continue to increase sewage handling capacity in cities.
Zhou said he hoped the quality of all of China's key dinking water resources would reach national standards by 2008, and by 2010, 70 percent of urban sewage would be processed before being discharged and the chemical oxygen demand emissions will drop by 10 percent from 2005.
Zhou said China's central authorities have listed water protection as a key task in achieving sustainable development.
Zhou said Hu's report indicated that, as a basic national policy, environmental protection has truly begun to play a key role in the country's economic and social development.
Zhou said that in the next 10 years China will develop a number of forest bases for commercial use that are expected to produce 130 million cubic meters of timber annually, equal to 40 percent of domestic demand.
run by the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Zhou is an alternate member of the 16th Central Committee of the CPC and member of the 17th Central Committee of the CPC.
Speaking at the 2008 National Environmental Law Enforcement Conference yesterday in Beijing, Zhou said setting up a law enforcement system of "iron and steel" was top of his agenda.
But Zhou said the ministry will not be slack in its efforts to combat pollution.
millions, but Zhou said he was looking to avoid the same fate.
Mr Zhou said some waterways resembled "sticky glue.
Speaking at a briefing on the sidelines of the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, Zhou said China has managed to cut sulphur dioxide emissions by 1.
Zhou said 2007 will be the first year in China's 11th five-year plan, which runs to 2010, that a reduction in emissions has been achieved.
Zhou said this year's success was due partly to the phasing out of small-scale facilities with backward production technology, which are major contributors to China's high levels of pollution.
Zhou said 51 pct of China's sulphur dioxide emissions come from the power sector, and he noted that effective measures could reduce discharges by 10 pct over the next two years.
Zhou said last week government efforts to cut sulphur dioxide and other pollutants belching into China's hazy skies were failing and that China would rigorously enforce limits on industrial pollution as it seeks to tame frenetic economic growth.
that provide drinking water for tens of millions of people.
Zhou said the number of such plants was ascertained only after a major chemical spill late last year triggered a nationwide survey.
Zhou said the survey, carried out at the end of the year, had uncovered "more than 100 enterprises with potential safety problems.
The full extent of environmental damage from nitrobenzene that spilled into the Songhua was still being determined, Zhou said Tuesday.
Zhou said Tuesday on a work conference of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) that the country plans to cut its sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand (COD), two major pollutants emissions in China, by 6 and 5 percent respectively in 2008 from 2005 levels.
But Zhou said giddy investment in steel mills, cement plants, coal-fired power stations and other emissions-heavy industries was defeating pollution limits.
Zhou said estimates from 17 Chinese provinces indicated that discharges grew another 5.
Zhou said that Beijing would work with five other provinces and municipalities surrounding it to control air pollution during the Olympics, including by limiting traffic and shutting down polluting factories.
Mr Zhou said almost half of this year's coal-processing projects failed to install desulphurisation equipment as required.
It is clear the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection is coming to a head," Zhou was quoted as saying.
Zhou said local governments were responsible for controlling emissions and warned that officials failing to protect the environment would "pay the price," the Xinhua report said.
Zhou said that in some counties, only 30 percent of projects had been checked for compliance with pollution controls before they were granted construction licenses, Xinhua reported.
Zhou is confident that the remaining three years of the 11th five-year plan will see a gradual reduction in pollution.