Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan Urges Jiangsu to Restructure Industry

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

["Chinese Vice Premier Urges Coastal Jiangsu To Expedite Industrial Restructuring for Sustainable Growth" - Xinhua headline]

Nanjing, June 12 (Xinhua) – China’s vice premier Zeng Peiyan urged the coastal Jiangsu Province to take the lead not only in economic development but also in industrial restructuring to promote sustainable growth and energy conservation.

Zeng made the remarks during his tour of the cities of Wuxi and Suzhou which are on the shores of Taihu Lake, where an outbreak of rapidly-growing blue algae forced Wuxi to cut water supplies to more than two million residents last month, on Sunday and Monday.

The Taihu Lake crisis could be a turning point to initiate more energy-saving projects and promote the application of environmentally friendly technologies, Zeng said.

He asked the province to implement better policies that favour environmental protection and energy conservation.

Zeng said the province had made great achievements in economic and social development in recent years, and he encouraged the province to continue to be a leader in economic growth by boosting hi-tech industries and the service sector.

Zeng inspected water quality of two lakes and a water supply plant. He also visited local households.

He asked environmental watchdogs to strengthen supervision and punish factories that discharge pollutants into the Taihu Lake.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.