Antarctic Treaty meeting

The 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and the 20th Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection will be held in Beijing from May 22 to June 1. VicePremier Zhang Gaoli will attend and address the opening ceremony on May 23, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying. China acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983 and became a consultative party in 1985. This will be the first time that an ATCM will be held in China. So far, nearly 400 representatives from 42 countries and 10 international organizations have registered to take part in the meeting, Hua said.