The third meeting of Environmental Cooperation Sub-commission under China-Russia Premier Regular Meeting was held in Moscow on June 25-26 of 2008. Mr. Zhou Shengxian, the Chinese Chairman of the Subcommission and Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China and Mr. Trutnev, Russian Chairman of the Sub-commission and Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Minister lead a delegation respectively and attended the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Trutnev, Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Minister with friendly, frank, mutual trust and practical atmosphere.

The two sides introduced to each other major environmental protection measures taken by their governments over the past year. Chinese Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian introduced the measures taken by the Chinese government in a bid to save energy and reduce emission, as well as the long-term plan to clean up and ecologically restore the Songhua River.

Chinese Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian met with Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Minister Yuri Trutnev in Moscow on June 26. They agreed that Russia and China have made great progress in environmental cooperation and pledged to boost the cooperation.

Addressing the Third Meeting of the Environmental Cooperation Sub-commission, Zhou introduced the measures taken by the Chinese government in a bid to save energy and reduce emission, as well as the long-term plan to clean up the Songhua (known as Sungari in Russia) River. Trutnev, for his part, spoke highly of the achievements acquired by China in the sphere. He also introduced to the Chinese side environmental protection cooperation by local governments in the border areas of the two countries.

The two sides reviewed the progress of environmental cooperation since the Second Meeting of the Environmental Cooperation Sub-commission and listened the progress report made by three working groups including the Working Group on Pollution Prevention and Control and Emergency Contacts for Environmental Disasters, Working Group on Monitoring and Protection of the Quality of Transboundary Waters and Working Group on the Conservation of Transboundary Nature Reserves and Biodiversity. The two sides were satisfied with the achievements and progress of the three working groups as well as that of the two expert groups under the three working groups. They both understood that the Sub-commission has played an important role in the preparation and implementation of relevant environmental protection agreements and mechanism between the two countries. They agreed that they would further enhance the function and role of the Sub-commission as an important environmental cooperation platform between the two governments.

The Environmental Cooperation Sub-commission reviewed and approved the 2008~2009 Annual Work Plan for the three Working Groups, approved the 2007 Summary Report on China-Russia Joint Monitoring of the Quality of Transboundary Water Bodies developed by the joint monitoring expert group on the quality of transboundary water bodies and agreed such activities as joint study on the strategy for the development of transboundary nature reserves network, joint promotion of effective implementation of the Agreement of the Cooperation on the Xingkai Lake Nature Reserve, acceleration of the consultation about the agreement on migrant birds and protection of their habitat and initiation of the consultation on mutual exchange of EIA information of water projects that may cause transboundary environmental impacts.

Minister Zhou Shengxian pointed out that this meeting was a great success with expected achievements. He put forward three requirements or hopes for the future work of the Sub-commission. First, we should coordinate well the relations between the Environmental Cooperation Sub-commission and other China-Russia bilateral environmental cooperation mechanisms. Second, we should further make advantage of the strength of each expert group under the Sub-commission and encourage environmental experts from the two countries to learn from each other, exchange their ideas, and raise the quality of China-Russia environmental protection cooperation. Third, we should further promote environmental protection cooperation in transboundary areas at local level. We welcome Russian enterprises to actively take part in market competition in the field of environmental protection in China in order to promote mutual benefits and win-win situation in environmental industry of the two countries.

Minister Zhou Shengxian and Minister Trutnev signed the Minute of the Third Meeting of the Sub-commission after the meeting.