100 tons of chemicals flowed into river
(China Daily/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-11-25 05:47

China pledges to minimize impact on Russia

On the international front, China has informed Russia of the situation in the Songhua River which flows into the neighbouring country Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a press briefing in Beijing yesterday.

The Songhua is a tributary of the Heilong River (called Amur River in Russia).

China will try its utmost to minimize the impact on neighboring Russia, including intensifying monitoring and water quality control measures.

"China is very concerned about the possible hazards to Russia and has informed its neighbor several times of the pollution," Liu said, "Both have pledged to cooperate closely to handle the pollution."

At another press conference, SEPA Vice-minister Zhang Lijun said the Chinese side will keep informing the Russian side of what it has learnt from our monitoring.

"The two sides are making specific arrangements for opening a hotline for the matter".

He said the polluted water in the Songhua River, which reached Heilongjiang provincial capital Harbin on Thursday morning, is expected to flow into the Heilongjiang River (called the Amur River in Russia) on the Sino-Russian border in around 14 days judging from the current flow speed.