The Environmental Protection Ministry and the Asian Development Bank will deepen cooperation in seven areas that include efforts to prevent pollution of the air, water and land, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed on Wednesday.

The memorandum maps out major areas of partnership and key forms of cooperation between the two parties from 2014 to 2018.

In addition to emphasizing cooperation in prevention and management of pollution, particular attention will also be given to policy dialogue, knowledge sharing and capacity building, according to the memorandum.

Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian said, "Being a large developing country, China is still in need of international financial and technological support."

The Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (2013-17) was released in mid-September and sets tough air quality improvement targets for all regions, Zhou said.

He pointed also to the action plans for water and soil pollution prevention and control that are still in progress, saying they are among the key priorities on the government's new working agenda.

He said the massive consumption of coal is a major cause of pollution in China, adding that tough measures are being conducted to tackle the problem.

For example, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster, which is the most polluted area in China, consumes 43 percent of the country's coal.

Coal consumption in the cluster is scheduled to decline by as much as 80 million metric tons based on the 2012 level, according to the recently released air pollution control action plan.

Takehiko Nakao, president of the Asian Development Bank, approved the measures being adopted and suggested that clean coal technologies, which include depuration before, during and after combustion, should also be applied.

The ministry's partnership with the Asian Development Bank began in 1988.

[email protected]