On the afternoon of April 24, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji met with Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP), and Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of the U.N. Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi.

Zhu said that China appreciates the important roles the two U.N. agencies have played in promoting the protection of global environment and the development of human settlements over the past years, which have pushed forward the cause of environmental protection and human settlements in developing countries. Zhu said that the Chinese government has always attached great importance to environmental protection and has been working hard to improve the housing conditions for the broad masses of the people, an effort that has brought fruitful results in environmenal and ecological protection and the improvement of living conditions for the Chinese people. The U.N. and China have carried out good cooperation in this regard. China hopes to enhance its cooperation with the U.N. on the control of sand storms that are affecting China and some other Asian countries.

Toepfer and Tibaijuka briefed Zhu on UNEP and UN-Habitat respectively. Toepfer congratulated China on combining economic and social development and environmental protection. He said that UNEP is delighted at the gradual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in China. UNEP is playing an active role in world environment protection and its cooperation with China is also constantly enhanced. He hoped both sides will carry out more effective cooperation in the future.

Tibaijuka thanked the Chinese government for its support for UN-Habitat. She said that the UN-Habitat is carrying out many projects in cooperation with China, and that the U.N. agency hoped to maintain and strengthen its cooperation with China as the country has sped up its pace of urbanization.She appreciated the assistance China has provided to developing countries in their efforts to cope with the challenges brought by urbanization.