On the morning of May 10, Vice President Chen, Xiaolong attended the opening ceremony of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Training Course on Sustainable Development and offered his congratulations. The training course was jointly held by Department of Commerce and Tongji University. The training course referred to the advanced experience home and abroad, concluded the experience and fruits in scientific research and environmental fields of Tongji University and UNEP and discussed with 23 students from 19 small island states about how to realize the sustainable development in the developing countries. Li, Yang, an officer in Department of Commerce and other important people also attended this opening ceremony.

Small developing Island States (SIDS) are the states that share such similar problems as low altitude, small population, a lack of resources, isolation from their mainland and mainstream culture, their vulnerability to the adverse effects of natural disasters, a simplex economic structure, strong dependence on international trade and so on. Their special natural, social and economic conditions formed the special problems on human’s sustainable development. Especially these states suffered a lot in the tsunami in December 2004. The International Meeting on the Sustainable Development of SIDS was held from 10-14 January 2005 and called on the international society to help these countries realize the sustainable development.