China, Netherlands start joint program on Yellow River
( 2003-10-24 15:51) (Xinhua)
China and the Netherlands launched a cooperation program on the Yellow River,
China's second longest river, at an ongoing international forum on the river in
Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.
At an inauguration ceremony on Thursday, Huang Ziqiang, deputy director of
the Yellow River Water Resources Committee, said the program was the start of
large-scale cooperation between China and the Netherlands on the river.
Huang said the cooperation program would focus on satellite-based monitoring
of water and river movement forecast in the Yellow River Valley.
Liu Zhiguang, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources,
said both countries had cooperated on another program involving the harnessing
and development of the estuary of the Yangtze River, China's longest river,
since 1985.
Under the Yangtze River program, more than 100 Chinese water resources
technical workers had received specialist training in the Netherlands. A joint
committee had been set up under China's Ministry of Water Resources and its
Dutch counterpart to give guidance in water management.
The Yellow River, with a length of 5,464 km, is one of the muddiest rivers in
the world. It is known as "China's sorrow" for the serious damage caused by
frequent floods on the river.
China's central government had focused on reigning in the unruly river since
the founding of New China in October 1949 and had some success in silt control,
flood control and disaster reduction, said Suo Lisheng, Deputy Minister of Water
Resources.
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