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Singapore proposes "eco city" with China
2007-04-27
Singapore has proposed jointly developing with Beijing an "eco city" in China to show how rapid growth can be balanced with environmental protection, a report said Thursday. Singapore's former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, who holds the influential cabinet post of senior minister, raised the idea during a meeting Wednesday in Beijing with Premier Wen Jiabao, The Straits Times reported. State press in China reported Thursday that Wen will head a new team aimed at ensuring China's environmental goals are met, amid a rising sense of urgency among officials. Following the creation of the task force on Wednesday, Wen warned that China was in grave need of cutting energy consumption and pollution, and that much tougher action is needed, Xinhua news agency said. The Straits Times quoted Goh as saying he suggested to Wen that "we look at how Singapore has integrated its economic development with environmental development, sustaining growth while making the whole city look beautiful." Wen agreed to the idea in principal, Goh was quoted as saying. Details of the proposal have not been worked out but Goh said on Singapore's 938Live radio that "it's going to benefit a city as well as the two countries' cooperation." Singapore officials could not immediately comment on the proposal. The two countries enjoy close bilateral ties and leading Singapore companies have a strong presence in China. The city-state said last Friday that it is aiming to become a centre for research in environmental sustainability.
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