Dust discharge remains same as in 1980

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's dust discharge has remained the same as in 1980 despite a big increase in installed thermal-power capacity,said a white paper titled "China's Peaceful Development Road" issued by the Information Office of the State Council here on Thursday.

China emphasizes energy saving and has adopted various measures in this regard, said the white paper.

During the 1980-2000 period, China's GDP quadrupled, but the annual consumption of energy only doubled. Its energy consumption of per 10,000-yuan GDP in 2004 dropped 45 percent compared with 1990, it said.

China has made medium- and long-term plans for energy conservation, aiming to keep an annual energy-saving rate of 3 percent by 2020, to save 1.4 billion tons of standard coal.

"China's development is an important component of global development. China has promoted world peace with its own development and made contributions to the progress of mankind." said the white paper.

China has created a miracle by feeding nearly 22 percent of the world's population on less than 10 percent of the world's arable land. The Chinese government has lifted 220 million people out of poverty, and has provided minimum living allowances to 22.05 million urban residents and aid to 60 million disabled people, according to the paper.

In 2004, the world economy reported the swiftest growth in 30 years, while China's economy grew 9.5 percent and became a key driving force for the former, it said.

However, despite gigantic achievements, China still remains thelargest developing country in the world, with a formidable task of development lying ahead, said the white paper.

It pointed out that by the end of 2004, 26.1 million rural Chinese still lived under the poverty line, more than 100 million farmers have to be provided with jobs elsewhere, and the government is obliged to create jobs for nearly 24 million urban and rural residents every year.

"China still needs to make persistent efforts to strive for a peaceful international environment for its own development, and promote world peace and development with its own growth," said thewhite paper. "This is particularly significant for both China and the world as a whole."