FOREIGN COMPANIES FACE STIFF POLUTION PENALTIES

Ren Longjiang, a senior official with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), has vowed to deliver equally harsh punishments to domestic and foreign-funded firms that violate environmental laws, saying that all enterprises must obey China's environmental laws and regulations.

His statement comes after Unilever China and the China branch of Hitachi Construction Machinery, targeted in a random inspection by the environmental watchdog earlier this year, were found discharging more wastewater than permitted.

¡°Environmental pollution caused by foreign-funded companies has come to the attention of SEPA, and we will strengthen our supervision,¡± Ren told Xinhua News Agency. ¡°We were surprised to find both companies had pollution problems as they were the only two foreign companies selected at random for the inspection,¡± he said.