Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told the 6th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Helsinki Monday that China was striving to build an environmentally-friendly society.

Energy and environment were two big issues that China faced in its economic development, Wen said when explaining China's position on various international issues at the ASEM summit.

Wen said China was both a big producer and consumer of energy, adding that properly handling the issues of energy and the environment was not only a necessity for China, but would also make a contribution to the globe at large.

China had actively participated in the international cooperation mechanism on climate change, and it had honored its commitments, Wen said.

The premier said the Chinese government had adopted measures to save energy and increase energy utilization efficiency.

China was striving to build an energy-saving and environmentally-friendly society, Wen added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2006)