The fine line between growth and staying green

As China promotes development to pull people out of poverty, it needs to tread carefully, a UN official says

Editor's note: As China aims to eliminate extreme poverty and be a "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) in time for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China next year, we talk to experts for their take on the country's commitment.

When Beate Trankmann worked in Beijing as a program officer in 1999, cars on the road were sparse, and there were so few modern buildings on the skyline that it was easy enough to count them one by one. In those days, commuters in the capital mostly relied on bicycles and buses, the latter pumping copious amounts of diesel exhaust into the air.

"Beijing, or most cities in northern China, relied mainly on coal heating," Trankmann said. "I still remember that smell in winter. The whole city smelt like a coal mine.