From now on, Australian companies will be able to acquire the China Environmental Label at home so that their products can enter the Chinese market more easily.

And Chinese companies wishing for an entry into the Australian market will also be able to get an Australian label within China.

A co-operative agreement on the mutual acceptance of each other's environmental labels was signed between the China Environmental United Certification Centre and the Australian Environmental Labelling Association Inc Tuesday in Beijing.

Under the agreement, the centre examines Chinese companies at home to see if they are qualified for the Good Environmental Choice Label, the only Australian environmental label for consumer and building materials, according to Cao Weimin with the centre.

If qualified, the companies will attain the label issued by the association.

On the other hand, the association does the same thing with the China Environmental Label, the only national "green" label in China.

But Cao admitted that such a practice does not mean thorough acceptance of the labels by each side. Thorough acceptance means that the labels themselves are seen as equal in both countries.

Petar Johnson, president of the association, said the agreement will be helpful for both Chinese and Australian companies that manufacture environment-friendly products and would like to enter each other's market to get better access.

New green products will especially benefit from the agreement, as it makes them more easily recognized by consumers in both countries, he said.

The agreement is the first of its kind in China and marks the beginning of the process for the China Environmental Label is gaining acceptance worldwide, said Chen Yanping, director of board of the centre.

The China Environmental Label, which was established in 1993 by the State Environmental Protection Administration and went into use in 1994.