Premier Wen Jiabao, attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, chaired the CCICED 20th Anniversary Side-Event at in the afternoon of June 21 local time. He and CCICED International members and the ministers of some countries discussed the sustainable development path for China and the world.
Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out that China is engaged in handling well the relations between development and environmental protection, facilitating environmental protection in the process of economic development and promote economic development in the process of environmental protection. CCICED research themes over the past 20 years are relevant to practical conditions of China. Members of CCICED have carried out large amount of investigations and studies and put forward valuable policy recommendations, many of which have turned into the decisions of the Chinese Government.
Premier Wen Jiabao said, China's environmental protection of the past 20 years can be summarized by the following three stages: pollution control, environment management and transformation of economic development mode. We will make more efforts to facilitate the transformation of economic development mode and adjustment of economic structure and strive for some breakthrough in the development of green economy in the "12th Five-Year Plan" period. China is a responsible big country. We will adhere to the "common but differentiated responsibility" principle and fulfill our due responsibility as a big developing country.
Foreign representatives have put forward their comments and suggestions on the issues of sustainable development in China and the world of common concern.
About 100 people including the heads of relevant UN institutions and international NGOs, minister of CCICED foreign donating countries and representatives of CCICED Chinese and International Members attended the meeting. MEP Minister Zhou Shengxian, Vice Minister Li Ganjie, MEP Chief Engineer on Nuclear safety and DG of Department of International Cooperation Xu Qinghua and main officials of national departments of China such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NDRC, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Commerce attended the meeting.