Chinese VP meets WWF chief

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Wednesday met with Kirsten Schuijt, director general of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, calling for closer cooperation to tackle global challenges in ecological conservation.

Han said the Chinese government has firmly established and practiced the concept of green development and has made remarkable achievements in building a beautiful China. WWF International is a prominent global environmental protection organization that collaborated with China on giant panda protection in the 1980s. Since then, it has made positive contributions to China's ecological conservation and sustainable development.

Han added that the natural environment is a foundation of human suvival, which is hard to restore once sabotaged. China attaches great importance to environmental protection, and is a participant, contributor and trailblazer in the effort to build a global ecological civilization. China is ready to conduct closer cooperation with WWF International to jointly cope with the global challenges in ecological conservation.

Schuijt spoke highly of the role China has been playing in global nature conservation and ecological governance. She said the organization is willing to strengthen its cooperation with China in protecting global biological diversity and promoting a sustainable development worldwide.