Associated Press
September 10, 2006

China will tighten pollution controls over the next five years to provide safe drinking water to its poor, populous countryside, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at the opening of the five-day World Water Congress in Beijing.

Beijing: China will tighten pollution controls over the next five years in order to provide safe drinking water to its poor, populous countryside, a top official said Sunday, following a string of accidents that have poisoned water supplies. “Handling water challenges properly is not only strategically important to China’s modernization drive, but will also contribute to global sustainable development,” said Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan at the opening of the World Water Congress, a gathering of some 3,000 officials and experts from around the world.