the state or localities, wild plants of economic development and
scientific research values, and those listed in the International
Trade Convention on Wild Animals and Plants in Danger and other relevant
conventions, will be the objects to be investigated. Major investigation
efforts will focus on the number of those wild plants, their
distributions, storage capacity, growth environment, management,
cultivation, development and utilization, domestic and international
trade and relevant research activities. To make the investigation
efforts a success, the Ministry of Forestry organized experts to prepare
and publish the outlines and procedures on investigating nation's major
wild plants.

The investigation is scheduled to be completed in year 2000.
Authorities concerned on protecting wild animals and plants at all
levels will establish their respective archives on wild plant
resources on the basis of the investigation results.

Mr. Lu Yongxiang, newly appointed President of Chinese Academy of
Sciences (CAS) recently expressed that he warmly welcome those highly
motivated young overseas Chinese S&T talents to join in CAS's expert
rank. The so-called "hundred talents recruitment" program that has
been implemented for three consecutive years will expand its
recruitment scale from this year. Half of CAS's research institutes
will recruit 100 and more young academic pioneers in total.

The hundred talents recruitment program is nationally acknowledged
talents selection initiatives renowned for its high starting point,
restrict demand and strong support. Starting from 1994, the program
has enlisted 59 people, most of whom are returned young scientists.
The expanded recruitment scale will still hold tightly the principle
of high starting point and high intensity with the criteria for
selection and financing remain unchanged.

The 97' guideline on the recruitment program published recently by
CAS has shown that the disciplines that will attract talents are
divided into two major groups: one is the latest trend and frontier
areas of international importance and emerging scientific fields
distributed in 9 research institutes and the other priority fields
established by CAS.

Dept. of Personnel of CAS said the people who are willing to apply
for the program shall basically be, aged between 30-40, of doctor
degrees and with working experience as post-doctor for at least two
years or chairing dedicated research project.

Research institutes involved in the program have prepared explicit
requirements on the posts, budgeting support and available
instruments. In this year's package, there are 26 research
institutes who are able to provide a budgeting of 1 million yuan and
another 30 institutes able to offer for 600,000 yuan. The highest
budget a recruit can get is as much 10 million yuan. Those who are
recruited will be placed in the posts of directors or deputy
directors of major national key laboratories, or engage in national
programs such as Climbing, 863, key projects of National Natural
Science Foundation, major S&T programs of 9th five year plan period
and CAS's major projects.



NEWS REPORT

US-based DK company has recently decided to import each year ten
thousand tons of highly efficient biological fertilizers from China.
The export is the first of its kind in China.

It is reported that the highly efficient biological fertilizer
developed by Beijing Sunshine High Tech Industry Co. has found its
production in more than 20 provinces and cities in the country. Its
fast growth and extension speed has become an encouraging attraction.

The so-called biological fertilizer turns nitrogen in the air into
the substance absorbed by crops and helps to turn insoluble
phosphorus in the soil into soluble phosphorus. As a result, crops
will be provided with sufficient input of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. The fertilizer will completely change the situation of
"melons radiate no fragrance, fruits and vegetables taste plain"
caused by application chemical fertilizers and make agricultural
produces in line with the standard of green food.



ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Addressing at 97' International Symposium on Pacific Marine Science
and Technology, Mr. Yang Wenhe, Deputy Administrator of the State
Oceanic Administration, said that the Chinese Government had in the
last five years seriously fulfilled the obligations defined by UN
Convention on Sea and achieved remarkable results in marine
environment management and ecological protection.

While attaching great importance to environment and development
issues, Mr. Yang said, the Chinese Government has fully recognized
the importance of marine development and protection in the nation's
economic and social development and environment protection, and
published a series of practical policies, regulations and by-laws.
With the support of the government at all levels, marine conservation
and development zones of different types have been established. All
these efforts have urged China's marine environment management and
associated ecological protection into a new development stage. Up to
date, together with authorities concerned of coastal cities and
provinces, the State Oceanic Administration has planned altogether
3,642 functional marine zones in the country, of which 2,482 are
development and utilization zones, 529 control and protection ones,
221 nature conservations, 330 special functions and 80 reserves. So
far 60 marine nature conservation zones of different functions have
been established with a total area of 1.3 million hectares. Of those
established, 15 are run by national authorities and 45 by the locals.
These marine protection zones have effectively protected basic marine
ecological systems and rare species in China's coastal areas.

Yang also added that to develop the integrated management of coastal
areas and realize their sustainable development, a group of projects
including "research on key techniques of coastal resources and
environment utilization" have been listed as national key S&T
projects to be addressed in the 9th five-year plan period.

China has achieved substantial results in a battle against Nature to
try to control the erosion of soil by water and wind.

For millennia, soil-erosion has threatened more than one-third of
China's territory.

Thanks to the implementation of its first Water And Soil Erosion-
Control Law, the soil defenders have so far succeeded in controlling
hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of eroded land.

China still faces a difficult erosion-control situation. Victory is
coming neither cheaply nor quickly. The control process is slow,
particularly when compared to the country's recent rapid economic
development and urbanization. While the government heals decades-old
erosions, man-made activities create new causes of erosion.

In the last six years, local regulations under the erosion-control
law have been issued in more than two-third of China's provinces and
autonomous regions, Zhang Chunyuan, the vice-minister of Water
Resources, reported recently.

The national law has helped local governments check and approve more
than 182,600 water and soil conservation programmes and projects,
including a number of key State developments. Some 36,000 serious
erosion cases have been dealt with by local governments, which
charged 320 million yuan ($38.5 million) in fees to control erosion
or compensate for it, Zhang told a commemorative meeting on July 12
in Beijing to mark the erosion-control law's sixth anniversary.

To prevent new, man-made erosion caused by construction, the law
prescribes that no project will be approved by the pertinent
government authorities without a well-drafted. practical erosion-
control plan.

Under such an enforcement and supervisory system, a record 1.8
billion yuan ($225 million) has been collected from builders to pay
to prevent or control erosion caused during construction.

"A tentative conservation law-enforcement system composed of more
than 62,000 professionals and part-time inspectors in more than 1,100
counties is shaping up," Zhang said.

However, he warned that erosion, particularly erosion caused by human
activities, has worsened despite the unremitting efforts made to
combat it.

Although China has basically controlled about 700,000 square
kilometers of eroded land in the last four decades, water-eroded land
has increased from 150,000 square kilometers in the 1950s to 180,000
square kilometers today.

Taking into account another 180,000 square kilometers of wind-eroded
land, 3.6 million square kilometers--38 per cent of China's land
mass--has been under the threat of serious erosion.

One of the most serious issues that remained unchanged was the
tendency of some localities to ignore soil-and water-conservation
while pursuing economic development, Zhang said. He pledged that his
ministry will strictly enforce the law to halt such thoughtless
damage.

Zhang and other experts attending the commemoration urged that public
awareness of China's erosion-controls be heightened. It is one of the
four fundamental State policies along with family planning,
environmental protection and conservation of arable land.



INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Two international consortiums were awarded $ 740 million worth of
contracts, and the money will allow the first generating units to be
installed in the giant Three Gorges project.China Yangtze Three
Gorges Project Development Corp (CTGPC) said it had notified the
successful bidders on August 15.

The contracts aim to supply 14 hydro-turbines generating 9,800 total
megawatts for the left bank powerhouse of the project.

One consortium, consisting of Anglo-French group GEC Alsthom and ABB
Power Generation of Switzerland, was awarded eight units with the
total capital of $ 420 million. China's Harbin Electric Machine Co
Ltd in Heilongjiang Province and Kvaerner Energy of Norway will be
the major subcontractors for those eight units, and the hydraulic
design from Kvaerner Energy will be used for the manufacture of those
machines.

GEC Alsthom will supply eight hydraulic turbines valued at $ 212
million, according to a release from the group.ABB announced on
August 25 that it will supply eight generators for the project.

The six other units involving $320 million were awarded to Voith-GE-
Siemens consisting of Germany's Voith Hydro GmbH and Siemens, and
Canada's GE Hydro and GE International Inc. China's Dongfang Electric
Machine Co Ltd in Deyang, Sichuan Province will be the major
subcontractor for the manufacture of those six units.

The portion subcontracted to Dongfang and Harbin accounts for 31 per
cent of the capital.

CTGPC said the awarded consortiums have committed to transfer
their advanced manufacturing technologies to these two Chinese
subcontractors.The two consortiums have been provided export
credits and commercial loans with a general tenure of 15-20
years.

The commercial contracts for the bid and the related loan agreements
will be formally signed in next few days, CTGPC said.

The 14 units are expected to begin operating in the 2003-2006 period.
With a planned generating capacity of 18,200 megawatts, the dam will
need 26 turbines.

The 12 remaining units will be mainly provided by domestic producers,
said Qin Zhongyi, general manager of Three Gorges International
Tendering Co Ltd.

The two Chinese subcontractors for the first 14 units, Dongfang and
Harbin, are expected to play a significant role in providing the next
12 units, Qin said.

CTGPC is expected to invite tenders for the 12 units around 2000, he
said.

Besides generating units, CTGPC is expected to invite bids for large
transformers and switches, Qin said.

The damming of the Yangtze River, a vital step of the project, is
scheduled to be completed in the first 10 days of November, said Lu
Youmei, president of CTGPC.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is joining China's efforts to
reform water management and improve the environment.

The UN agency and China International Centre for Economic and
Technical Exchanges recently signed agreements on three new projects
into which the UNDP will put in more than $2 million in grant
assistance, said UNDP's China Office.

The projects are 21st Century Urban Water Management in China,
Capacity Building for Environmental Education in Primary and Middle
Schools through the Production of Interactive Teaching Materials, and
Capacity Development for improving Traffic Pollution Control in
Beijing.

The urban water management project is started on August and last for
21/2 years. It aims to achieve sustainable water use in urban areas,
said Hou Xi'an with UNDP' China Office.

The project will assist the Ministry of construction in improving
water and waste water management by developing and demonstrating an
effective process for institutional reform and implementation of a
water demand management strategy.

Pilot activities will be carried out in Shijiazhuang, capital of
Hebei Province, to determine the most appropriate methodology.

An institutional reform strategy and an action plan will be developed
for a revised tariff structure to establish self-financing water
supply and waste water companies in the pilot city. The results will
be disseminated to other cities throughout the country.

Data from the Ministry of Construction suggest China's water
resources are only 2,250 cubic metres per person, one-fourth the
world's average and 109th of 149 countries.

Water scarcity is Compounded by very uneven regional distribution.
China is ranked by the UN as one of the 26 most water-deficient
countries in the world.

Current water prices cover only half of the average level needed for
self-sustaining water company operations.

The China/UNDP environmental education project will last until July
2000. It is designed to strengthen environmental awareness and
compliance by promoting interactive environmental education to
children.

The project will provide a coordinated approach for the development
of pilot interactive teaching materials in primary and middle schools.
It also will help the National Environmental Protection Agency set up
a teachers' resource base and a network for disseminating materials
in close co-operation with the State Education Commission.

The traffic pollution control project in Beijing aims to reduce
adverse social, environmental and economic consequences of traffic-
related air pollution in the capital city.

The two-year project started on July. It will strengthen the existing
air pollution monitoring system in Beijing and collect key data on
vehicle emissions.