China works with Finland to promote bio fuel

Beijing plans to cooperate with Finland in biological fuel technology in China's rural areas, a senior official said at the Beautiful Beijing Clean-tech Seminar on Tuesday.

"The construction of 'Beautiful China' cannot be completed without a beautiful countryside," said Li Junfeng, director-general of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

"I hope China and Finland can make a joint effort to popularize biological fuel in rural areas," Li said at the seminar in Beijing.

Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen affirmed China as its largest trading partner in Asia and is willing to share Finland's experience on how to protect the environment and promote sustainable development.

China and Finland, which is advanced in biological fuel and combined heat and power technologies, initiated the "Beautiful Beijing" project on June 20 in Helsinki, Finland.

It was jointly launched by the Chinese Ministry of Environment Protection and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

Under the project, Chinese and Finnish clean technology companies will carry out research and pilot programs in five major sectors: energy production, building construction, traffic, energy efficiency in major industries and the monitoring of air quality.

According to Li, the haze hanging over Beijing and neighboring areas largely results from the burning of coal, which is still the major power supply in rural areas of Beijing.

The city aims to reduce coal use from 23 million tons to 15 million tons by 2015.

China will invest more than 200 billion euros ($265 billion) to reduce emissions by 25 percent and improve the country's air quality in five years.