I was full of hope and anxiety when I came to Japan about 10 years ago from Beijing to study. When I arrived in Sendai, I was surprised by its beautiful blue sky and clean air. Until then, I was accustomed to the smoggy sky of Beijing and did not know air could be so refreshing. The striking difference between the two cities set me seriously thinking about how China can once again have clean air.

As a member of Tohoku University's China-Japan joint study group on environmental pollution, I made two visits to Taiyuan in China's Shanxi province, where air pollution is serious. When I first went there, I was shocked by the advanced state of pollution caused by smoke and soot. According to Shanxi province's environmental protection bureau, the level of total suspended particles and sulfur dioxide in major cities within the province is several times the standard in urban and general industrial areas and is threatening residents' health.

Throughout the week-long survey, I saw few wild birds. Fellow researchers complained of sore eyes and throats. The levels of nitric acid, sulfur and ammonia, believed to come mainly from the smoke from iron works, measured by Fumitaka Yanagisawa, assistant professor of environmental chemistry at Yamagata University, were up to 10 times the levels in Japan.

China's environmental pollution is the result of giving priority to economic growth and slighting environmental protection.

Since the introduction of reform and the open-door policy in the late 1970s, China has enjoyed high economic growth. Production of crude steel, which stood at 30 million tons in 1978, topped 100 million tons in 1996, making China the world's top producer.

In 1978, energy consumption converted into coal was 570 million tons. That figure jumped to 1.4 billion tons in 1996. Coal accounts for 70 percent of China's energy source, compared with Japan's 17 percent and the world average of 27 percent. Therefore, without proper environmental protection measures, serious air pollution caused by sulfur oxides and soot is inevitable.

But air pollution is not the only problem.

China's coal consumption with pre-modern equipment is responsible for a sharp rise in greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide. Although China's per capita emission of carbon dioxide is relatively small-10 percent of the United States' and 30 percent of Japan's-total emission is second only to the United States. A comparison of gross domestic product and carbon dioxide emissions shows that for China to attain the same level of GDP as Japan, it would have to emit 13 times as much carbon dioxide.

According to a trial calculation by Gyozo Kawahara, a Japanese engineer dispatched to Shanxi province to provide technical assistance in steel manufacturing and a member of the research team, if manufacturing equipment currently used for coke production and small-scale steel manufacturing in Shanxi province are replaced with modern equipment comparable to that used in industrialized countries, the province can cut carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 5 percent of Japan's total.

In addition to the advanced degree of air pollution, I was also surprised at the changing awareness of the Chinese people concerning the environment.

During the 1970s, the sight of clouds of black smoke rising from factory chimneys did not bother most people. On the contrary, it was regarded as a symbol of modern industry and made them proud. I was no exception. But as people learned more about the environment and their standard of living improved, they began to think differently. Newspapers now carry stories calling for cleaner air. In particular, Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Olympics served as an incentive for the Chinese people to be more aware of their environment.

Nothing is more important to China than self-help to improve its environment. But this is no easy task for a huge developing nation, which sustains more than 20 percent of the world's population on 7 percent of the world's total land area and whose per capita GDP was $738 (92,259 yen), one-45th of Japan's, in 1997.

But I am concerned pollution may advance and become even more serious than it is now.

For China to restore its environment, the economic and technical cooperation of industrialized countries is indispensable. Japan, separated from China by a narrow strip of water, is increasingly concerned about China's environmental problems and proposes various forms of cooperation. As China is so large and the situation differs greatly between regions, for these projects to be effective, various local conditions need to be carefully studied in advance.

The main theme of the research project initiated by Izumi Oomura at the Tohoku University's Center for International Research, to which I belong, is the improvement of steel production in Shanxi province, where pollution is serious because of a heavy concentration of small shaft furnaces. We are working to introduce a simultaneous production system of pig iron and clean energy that would allow continued economic growth, improve the quality of the atmosphere in Shanxi province and prevent global warming. The Shanxi local government also attaches great importance to this project. It allowed the project team to enter areas that are closed to foreigners and promised to fully back up the joint study.

As a Chinese citizen studying China's environmental problem, I sincerely hope Japan-China cooperation contributes to the early recovery of China's environment.

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The author, 43, is a guest assistant professor at Tohoku University's Center for International Research. Born in China's Shanding province, he came to Japan in 1992 and obtained a doctorate degree in metallurgy at Tohoku University.