From January 1 next year, Beijing will refuse to register motorvehicles failing to meet the new standards, sources with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was quoted as saying.

The new standards, equivalent to Euro-II standards, will halve the emission of nitric oxides and other major pollutants in automobile exhaust, according to experts.

The new emission standards are expected to apply across the country in 2005.

Rising income and sliding automobile price have led to fast growing number of vehicles on Beijing's roads in recent years. Statistics show that there were more than 1.79 million motor vehicles in the city at the end of June, of which about 1.1 million were privately-owned.

Though Beijing has taken measures to curb air pollution since 1998, monitoring shows that pollutants like nitric oxides have increased along with more vehicle numbers in recent years. Automotive emission is a major source of pollution in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2002)