Any new cars that fail to meet the standards cannot then be registered, said the Shanghai Environmental Protection Administration.

Authorized by the State Environment Protection Administration, Shanghai will become the second city in China - following Beijing - to adopt the new standards, mainly for environmental purposes.

By 2005, operators of the city's 40,000 taxis and 18,000 buses - which contribute half of the vehicle pollutants - will be obliged to ensure that all taxis and buses running in central Shanghai and the Pudong district meet the new standards.

Hong Hao, director of the local environmental authority, said: "The strategic positioning of Shanghai as a world-class city, the Special Olympics to be held in 2007 and the 2010 World Expo all challenge us to clean up the air."

By the end of last year, Shanghai had more than 1.4 million motor vehicles. Almost 70 percent of those vehicles produced emissions that were 10 times those permitted by Euro II standards and five times those allowed under Euro I.

Shanghai is expected to have 1.5 million motor vehicles by 2005.

(China Daily February 26, 2003)