Most grain-growing areas now covered by devices that can detect heavy metals China has reached the halfway point in setting up a national soil monitoring network, with about 20,000 quality control devices that now cover 99 percent of all counties, according to a senior environment official. The goal is to have 40,000 devices nationwide by 2020, but already 88 percent of the main grain-growing areas are covered by the initial network, Qiu Qiwen, head of soil quality management at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said on Wednesday. The devices run regular tests using 12 key indicators - mainly heavy metals - and relay the data back to a central database. Eventually, the information will be available online to the public, as laid out in a five-year environmental protection plan released by the State Council in November. The network is seen as a major tool to aid China's efforts to prevent and control soil pollution, as the country looks to protect its arable land and shore up its food security. The announcement on Wednesday came as top legislators prepared to discuss a draft law governing soil pollution at their bimonthly session, from Thursday to Tuesday, which is expected to provide legal tools to push control efforts forward. China has also launched a comprehensive study that includes a survey of farmland - including the distribution of polluted farmland and its influence on grain - which will be finished next year, as well as a survey of land surrounding polluting companies that emit pollutants including chemicals and nonferrous metals. That survey is to be finished by 2020. All preparation work has been completed, with unified technical standards, surveying standards and information release processes mapped out for the 31 provincial regions that will conduct the survey, Qiu said. Soil pollution has drawn increasing attention as a result of cases exposed in recent years involving grain that was polluted by heavy metals in the soil. The public cannot currently access timely monitoring data on soil quality, unlike the easy access to air quality information, pointing to the urgent need for the monitoring network and a thorough survey. [email protected] The latest data on soil pollution was released in 2014, based on a survey jointly conducted by the Environmental Protection and Land and Resources ministries, which found that 16 percent of the surveyed spots randomly selected within an area of 6.3 million square kilometers were polluted. For example, 5,846 spots around 690 polluting companies were tested, and 36.3 percent were found to be polluted. The two ministries are joined by the Ministry of Agriculture for the current survey, and more detailed data will emerge, Qiu said. In response to the public's loud voice calling for controls on soil pollution, China has taken comprehensive targeted measures. The Ministry of Finance allocated 14.6 billion yuan ($2.14 billion) to support governments in tackling soil pollution last year and the first six months of this year, Qiu said. In fact, China has managed to reduce heavy metals emissions through strict controls. Emissions of five major heavy metals - lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and arsenic - fell measurably from 2007 to 2015, according to data from the Environmental Protection ministry. event wristbands ukcustom wristbands no minimummotivational wristbands for athletesjordan wristbandwristbands online
Foreign Ministry says US, Japan out of line in comments about Nansha Islands China strongly opposes irresponsible remarks concerning China made by the defense ministers of the United States and Japan at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday. Hua Chunying said in a news release published on the ministry's website that China has indisputable sovereignty of the Nansha Islands and its surrounding waters and has been consistently seeking to peacefully resolve disputes through negotiations and discussions. She reiterated that China strongly opposes some nations' flexing their military muscles and threatening and challenging China's sovereignty and the safety in the South China Sea under the guise of freedom of navigation and flight. The spokeswoman also said it is China's genuine and lawful right to deploy necessary defense facilities on its own islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Hua urged some "nations outside the region" to stop making irresponsible remarks, to respect efforts at safeguarding the peace and stability in the South China Sea and to play a constructive role in this regard. Her remarks were in response to a question on how China views the comments about China from US Defense Secretary James Mattis and Tomomi Inada, Japan's defense minister, at the Shangri-La Dialogue that concluded on Sunday afternoon. Mattis and Inada accused China of disregarding "rules-based order" and creating tensions in their addresses made during the event. This year's Shangri-La ¬Dialogue, also called the 16th Asia Security Summit and held by the London-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, was attended by 22 ministerial-level delegates and 12 chiefs of defense departments, as well as senior military officials and academics from 39 countries and regions. The People's Liberation Army delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue also made clear the Chinese military's pursuit of common security and its commitment to peaceful means to address disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, PLA researchers attending the event said. Zhou Bo, director of the security cooperation center under the Defense Ministry's Office for Inter¬national Military Cooperation, said on Sunday representatives from the PLA clearly and comprehensively explained China's stances toward issues concerning the East and South China seas and exposed some nations' real intentions. "I told the audience to a special session that China made a national law to ensure the lawful use of waterways nearly 20 years ago and that some countries have been condemning China for compromising 'freedom of navigation' even as they themselves refuse to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," Zhou said. Chinese delegates also reminded participants that despite the PLA's constantly improving capabilities in the past decades, it has never taken advantage of its strength to stir up trouble outside the country's borders, he added. "Moreover, we updated the attendees on our efforts and achievements in building mutual trust as well as boosting communication and exchange," Zhou said. Lieutenant General He Lei, vice-president of the PLA Academy of Military Science and head of the PLA delegation, told the audience on Saturday that China is always committed to resolving international disputes through peaceful negotiations and opposes to the use or threat of force. He said China has always held that countries, big or small, are equal and issues should be settled through consultation on the basis of equality. On the South China Sea issue, China insists on peacefully resolving disputes through negotiation and consultation by countries directly involved. China will also work with ASEAN to uphold peace and stability in the region, He said. [email protected]
