China plans to improve conservation

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- China plans to improve energy conservation policies and pollution control.

Xie Zhenhua, deputy commissioner of the State Development and Restructuring Commission, spoke recently at the China Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction Forum on the planned procedures.

He said the government plans to revise directives for readjusting the industrial structure and coordinate industrial policies with those on credit, land, finance, taxes, prices and quality control, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Stricter rules will gradually be adopted for companies seeking to enter key industries to prevent development of energy-intensive, high-pollution, low-technology projects, Zhenhua said.

The country faces severe supply and pollution problems, he said. For example, the capacity of the steel and power industries, which are responsible for 70 percent of the nation's sulfur dioxide emissions, has expanded by 20 percent in recent years.

Beijing will provide local governments with financial assistance to help them reduce the capacity of energy-intensive, high-pollution industries, Zhenhua said. The government also plans to regulate prices of fuel and power, taxes on mineral resources like coal, non-ferrous metals and iron ore as well as high-emission cars and wooden flooring.