China: Learned from the Environmental Mistakes of the West

‘Green economy’ a priority, China pledges

Ambassador Junsai Zhang, Chinese ambassador to Canada, spoke to students during a visit to the University of Waterloo Thursday. Record staff

Feb 24 2011 - China has learned from the environmental mistakes of the west and has pledged to make a “green economy’’ a priority, China’s ambassador to Canada said Thursday.

Junsai Zhang was speaking at the University of Waterloo on Sino-Canadian relations, particularly in the area of education.

Almost 2,900 students from China and Hong Kong are enrolled at the university.

Over the past 25 years, the university has entered into more than 50 agreements with Chinese institutions for student exchange programs, joint academic programs, collaborative research and contract training.

In a question and answer period, Zhang was asked about the government’s commitment to environmental education.

The ambassador said China has been able to learn from the mistakes of western countries which experienced pollution before environmental protections were put in place {continued}