Zhou Shengxian, director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), told a meeting on the management of environmental impact evaluation in Guangzhou, that environmentally-damaging activities were occurring nationwide and that no project would receive approval if it is destructive to the environenment.

Zhou said that "environmental impact assessments will set the standard and no development project which damages the environment will get approval."

Zhou had asked environmental protection workers to be strict in examining and approving construction projects and to be stringent in inspections, while maintaining efficiency, openness and transparency.

China has 68 organizations specializing in environmental impact assessments.

Environmental protection officials had evaluated 55,000 construction projects in the last two years, and had denied approval for 1,190 projects, with investments totaling RMB170 billion for failing to meet environmental protection standards.