China has made the protection of the ecological environment a priority in its development. Over recent years, it has implemented prevention and control measures on the pollution of air, water, and soil; returned marginal farmland to forests and grasslands; and carried out energy conservation, environmental protection, and renewable energy development through technological innovations. In addition, it has developed ecologically friendly industries, and integrated ecological protection with agriculture, industry, information, and service sectors to realize the ecological transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is a firm advocate for a harmonious relationship between man and nature. “Man survives on the land, which is irrigated by water; water runs down from the mountains, which are piled up by soil; and soil is the substance on the surface of the earth in which plants grow. All life on earth forms the material basis for human’s survival and development,” said Xi. China is always willing to join hands with the international community in seeking a path for the construction of a global ecological civilization and build a clean and beautiful world.
President Xi said that drawing upon the ancient Chinese notion of “unity of nature and human” and “following nature’s course,” the Chinese have developed a green concept focusing on innovation, coordination, openness, and sharing, which puts the construction of an ecological civilization as a priority, and integrates it into the process of China’s economic and social development in all aspects amid its modernization drive.
On November 16, 2020, at the European Business Summit, senior officials, experts in relevant fields, and senior corporate executives from China, the European Union (EU), and EU member countries including Germany and Denmark held a cloud dialogue under the theme of “Seeking China-EU Green Cooperation in Post-Pandemic Recovery.” Participants agreed that China and the EU have great potential in the cooperation of green development and climate change. Both sides should make full use of the complementary advantages in technology, manufacturing, and capital to seek sustainable economic development through green cooperation.
As early as the 1990s, the EU helped China organize training sessions on energy conservation and promote the development of China’s renewable energy industry.
In 2020, although the sudden COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the process of global climate change negotiations, it did not hinder China-EU cooperation in climate and environment issues. At present, the cooperation between the two parties in related fields is progressing steadily. China and Germany have established a Sino-German Ecological Park in Qingdao; China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research have jointly pushed forward R&D projects for electric bicycles, electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles, and established joint laboratories in Beijing and Shanghai. The construction of a Sino-French Ecological Park in Chengdu, which focused on cooperation in such areas as smart transportation, smart energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, energy conservation, and environmental protection, has become a model of green and low-carbon development in China and France. Recently, the business communities of China and the Netherlands have had close consultations on cooperation in the fields of hydrogen energy and fuel cells. During the China-Germany-EU leaders’ meeting held in mid-September 2020, China and the EU decided to establish a high-level dialogue on the environment and climate, and forge a China-EU green partnership.
China also announced that it will scale up its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by adopting more vigorous policies and measures at the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, aiming to have its CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, director-general of the European Commission for Climate Action, whose department is responsible for EU policy on climate action and leads international climate negotiations for the EU, said that China’s policy measures will have a broad and profound impact. According to him, the EU and China have had close cooperation in climate change for a long time. At present, the EU-China high-level environmental and climate dialogue mechanism announced by top leaders of both sides are being implemented. The EU is willing to further discuss with China on how to achieve long-term climate change goals.
Meanwhile, at the Leaders’ Side Event on Safeguarding the Planet of the G20 Riyadh Summit held on November 22, 2020, President Xi said, “The earth is our shared home, and we should follow the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, pitch in to tackle climate and other environmental challenges, and protect the blue planet.”
