Beijing, Seoul fight air pollution together

Beijing and Seoul signed a cooperation agreement here on Thursday to jointly tackle air pollution. The agreement was reached after a meeting between Beijing mayor Wang Anshun and visiting mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon. "Seoul hopes to cooperate with China in a long-term and practical way at a time when citizens feel growing anxiety," Park told Xinhua. Park said a team would be established within a joint committee in charge of economic and cultural exchanges between Beijing and Seoul. The Seoul government tackles the problem through strong monitoring and tough regulations. "We hope to work with Beijing as part of regional cooperation and deal with a common environmental issue for northeast Asia," Park said. Park visited a Beijing pollutant observatory and attended a forum on air quality with officials and experts from both countries on Thursday afternoon. Heavy smog has been frequent in the Chinese capital since February, and skies in neighbors Tianjin and Hebei are hardly any bluer. Beijing has thrown 8 billion yuan at the air quality problem since last year, according to Mayor Wang. The municipal government acknowledges that they are under great pressure when the air is not clear. Among the 10 most heavily polluted cities, seven are in north China's Hebei Province, which encircles Beijing. Tianjin is also on the top 10. Steel and cement capacities are being slashed and tens of thousands of coal-fired furnaces extinguished forever, according to Premier Li Keqiang's recent work report. Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have pledged that, by 2017, coal consumption and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 63 million tonnes and 122 million tonnes, respectively, compared to 2012. Over 100 million people live in the three regions, with a combined area of 216,000 square kilometers.