It is a great honour to be here to represent the Sichuan Province and to welcome you.

First of all, I would like to congratulate IWMC, especially Mr. Eugene Lapointe, for his initiative to hold this meeting. To the People's Republic of China, this meeting will have two important implications, namely:

a) The Symposium will support the efforts of sustainable utilization; and

b) The Symposium will also support China's biological diversity, which includes fauna and flora and their ecosystems.

The involvement of the local people is important as their support of conservation is believed to be significant if they can benefit from areas of conservation. Our wildlife utilization is directed towards captive-breeding programmes that are in line with the strengthening of wild population study and inventory.

I wish that this Symposium will produce fruitful recommendations that are not only beneficial to China but also to the whole world. �