Japan and China on Sunday signed 42 joint projects at an annual forum aimed at addressing China's environmental problems.
The forum, which began 3 years ago, was held in Beijing this year with the participation of about 1,000 people from the government and the private sector.
In the joint projects, Japan will provide technologies to China that will make industrial plants more energy-efficient and improve water purification methods.
Japanese economy minister Masayuki Naoshima says bilateral cooperation is essential in curbing global warming, because China's energy consumption is expected to double from the current level by 2030.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang called on Japan to speed up the transfer of its environmental technologies.
China hopes to make environment-related industries a new driving force in its economy. Its government's stimulus measures include massive investments in the environmental sector. The number of projects signed by the 2 countries this year was double that of the last forum.
After the forum, Naoshima told reporters that he hopes Japanese technologies can help China address its problems and that this cooperation will be beneficial for Japanese industries.
2009/11/08 23:03(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_17.html
Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:31 pm