30 in 30 - 2006: China shifts focus to environment

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-17-2008 09:46

Reform and opening up has brought development to China. And now the country is shifting its emphasis from economic growth to resource conservation and environmental protection.

China is shifting its emphasis from economic growth to  resource conservation and environmental protection.

This quiet little town is located in Yanzhou City, Shandong Province. The development of the economy here lags behind other townships.

In December 2006, the town's calm was shattered. The discovery of a coal mine, with reserves of 2-hundred million tons, fueled the desires of many residents to get rich.

A Yanzhou resident said, "This coal mine will greatly boost the economy of our town."

Initial estimates showed that the mining of the coal mine would bring Yanzhou City an annual revenue increase of one hundred million yuan. And it would create ten thousand jobs.

The coal industry has provided an important support for the whole country's economic growth and social progress. Statistics show that during the period from 1978 to 2006, China's raw coal output more than doubled, boosting the 9.8-percent annual growth of the national economy.