Xie Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the China National Development and Reform Commission

As the world's largest developing country, China now faces a new period of industrial and urban development. This new phase brings with it multiple challenges, including improving the livelihoods of China's citizens, protecting the environment, and tacking climate change.

According to Xie Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the China National Development and Reform Commission, these challenges were dealt with by the adoption of emission reduction policies outlined in China's 11th Five-Year Plan spanning from 2006 to 2010. The policies featured in the plan call for the readjustment of China's industrial infrastructure. The policies enhanced public awareness of the need to reduce emissions, as well as provided support systems to ensure that China's economy will remain stable as it phases out some of its more environmentally damaging industries. Xie said that energy consumption per GDP unit for the first three quarters of 2010 was nearly 3 percent lower than the same period of the previous year. Xie believes that this is a sign that the country's energy-saving goals have already been realized, and the goal for dioxide emission reduction has reached ahead of time.