HARBIN - China is planning to build cross-border wetlands and nature reserves in its northeastern provinces to protect precious bird and fish species, the Minister of Environment Protection Zhou Shengxian said Thursday.

The wetlands and nature reserves will be built at the lower reaches of such transnational rivers as the Heilongjiang River, Wusuli River and Tumen River, Zhou said at a China-Russia environmental protection conference in Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

"China is willing to join hands with Russia to expand environment protection by deepening cooperation in such areas as biodiversity, wetland protection and environment policies," Zhou said.

Also, China will further strengthen management and pollution control over such key transnational rivers, the minister said.

The environment conference that opened Thursday was also attended by Russia's Minister for Natural Resources and Ecology Yuri Trutnev.

Trutnev hoped that the two countries would soon reach an agreement on the building of natural reserves for Amur leopards and Siberian tigers.