Chinese Vice Premier Hui
Liangyu said China places great emphasis on the water
conservancy and irrigation work at the nineteenth general assembly
of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID),
which opened in Beijing.
Hui, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist
Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee, noted that ensuring world food security and
environment sustainable development pose not only a stark issue for
humankind in the 21st century but a common duty and obligation for
all countries as well as the international community.
The Chinese government endures a great pressure of guaranteeing
food safety as the country has a vast population and far less
average per-capita tillable land and fresh water resources, apart
from frequent dry spells and waterlogging, he acknowledged.
The Chinese government attaches great importance to agriculture,
and it has worked out a range of substantial policy measures over
the past two decades to the benefit of peasant farmers, he said.
Meanwhile, he promised on behalf of his government to intensify the
agricultural infrastructure building featuring water conservancy,
reasonably exploitation and protection of water and soil, and
efforts to accelerate the development of irrigation and drainage
technologies and boosting international exchanges in this
regard.
Hui met with ICID President Keizrul bin Abdullah before the
opening of the conference, which was attended by more than 1,000
delegates from some 50 countries.
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2005)