OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT WASHINGTON June 21 1999 Her Excellency Zhu Ulan Minister of Science and Technology Beijing People’s Republic of China Dear Minister Zhu I regret I did not have the opportunity to meet you during the second session of the U S -China Fomm on Environment and Development in April Clearly the Vice’ President and Premier Zhu Rongji made important progress in advancing bilateral cooperation on environment and development I have enclosed for your reference copies of reports from the four Forum working groups and an English-language version of our joint statement at the conclusion of the Forum At an appropriate moment the Vice President will write to Premier Zhu with his thoughts on the next steps we might take in the Forum I look forward to further contact with you Sincerely Leon Fuerth National Security Advisor to the Vice President Enclosures As stated cc Ambassador Li Zhaoxing PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER mi OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT WASHINGTON U S -China Joint Statement Second Session of the Forum on Environment Development April 9 1999 At the invitation of President Clinton of the United States of America Premier Zhu Rongji of the People’s Republic of China paid an official visit to the United States from April 6 to April 14 of 1999 During the visit Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice President A1 Gore co-chaired the second session of the U S -China Forum on Environment and Development in Washington DC on April 9 1999 The first session of the Forum was held in Beijing in March 1997 Vice President Gore and Premier Zhu Rongji delivered opening remarks of the Forum They agreed that the U S and China should work together to achieve our common goals of improving the standard of living of all people while protecting and preserving the world’s natural resources They charged the Forum’s four working groups to find ways in which our cooperative efforts can further these goals The Vice President and Premier also met with executives of American compames from the energy and environment sectors to discuss such issues as strengthening the cooperation in the area of environment protection between the business sectors of the two nations Vice President Gore and Premier Zhu Rongji had productive discussions on a variety of issues related to the Forum They agreed that the United States and China will increase their efforts to improve protect and preserve the world’s natural resources by working together to combat global threats such as climate change desertification and loss of biodiversity managing water resources developing cleaner and more efficient sources of energy minimizing air pollution and its effects on human health and mitigating and reducing natural disasters During the Forum several concrete steps were taken to further our cooperation on these issues These include • The U S EPA and the Chinese State Environment Protection Administration and other counterparts signed 10 Statements of Intent outlining cooperation on air quality management energy efficient buildings clean air and energy technologies the relation of air pollution to human health and a feasibility study on sulfur dioxide • The United States and China agreed that Peace Corps will conduct the Environment Education Project in China • The U S and China agreed to utilize the U S Export-Import Bank’s new $100 million credit line to finance on the basis of mutual consent projects focused on PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER renewable energy energy efficiency and clean coal technology The Department of Energy hopes to provide expert assistance for this program • The United States and China agreed to consider a dialogue on land use managernent to further cooperative efforts to fight deforestation desertification destruction of wetlands and rangeland degradation • The U S and China will hold the Second Meeting of the Oil and Gas Industry Forum in Houston in July 1999 • The U S and China will hold a joint seminar on water resource management in Arizona April 19-22 1999 • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA and the State Oceanic Administration have established a Joint Commission on Coastal Management to develop plans for the sustainable use of coastal ecosystems • NOAA the State Oceanic Administration and the Chinese Meteorological Administration will hold a joint workshop and a symposium on climate forecasting • The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and China’s State Statistical Bureau will sign a letter of intent to initiate a three-year cooperative research project based on the results of China’s first agricultural census to study the linkages between the crop and livestock sectors farm productivity and economies of scale urban agriculture and rural labor quality and migration issues • The United States and China agreed to continue the high-level dialogue on climate change agreed to at last year’s presidential summit in China Vice President Gore and Premier Zhu expressed satisfaction with the activities of the Forum to date They urged participants to further strengthen cooperation in the important areas covered by the Forum and agreed to encourage participation in Forum activities by business and other sectors They decided that the next session of the Forum will be held under the auspices of the moderators in China and the specific time will be decided through diplomatic channels