China to develop circular economy

BEIJING - The State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Wednesday called for development of a circular economy while mapping out future tasks for boosting the country's green growth.

Establishing a circular economy is a major strategic task for China's economic and social development, and an important means to promote ecological progress and achieve sustainable growth, the cabinet noted during an executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The cabinet also urged more efforts to construct a nationwide industrial system that allows recycling of renewable resources and encourages green consumption.

The meeting passed the 12th Five-Year Plan on the development of the circular economy, which announces multiple tasks and measures for promoting the sector's development in the 2011-2015 period, according to a statement released after the meeting.

In the industrial sector, China will promote economical use of resources including energy, water and land, as well as waste exchange, the statement said.

The country will also build a cyclic agricultural system that promotes resource conservation, clean production and waste reuse, in order to improve the ecological environment of rural China and the efficiency of its farming, the statement added.

It furthermore said that China will improve the system for recycling renewable resources and waste, and push forward green concepts in architecture and transportation. It said the service sector should play a key role in transforming the current consumption model into a green, low-carbon one.

The cabinet also vowed to carry out demonstration projects and improve policies and regulations in areas including taxation, finance, industry, investment and pricing to help build the circular economy.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) emphasized the importance of ecological progress and advocated the building of a "beautiful" China at the 18th CPC National Congress in November.