SEPA Vice Minister Zhou Jian met with French Ambassador for Climate Negotiation Mr. Bliss at the SEPA office on November 9. The two exchanged views over a range of issues including climate change, energy conservation and emission reduction and clean production.

Vice Minister Zhou Jian expressed his welcome to the visit of Mr. Bliss and briefed him on the latest development of environmental protection work in China. He said that the just concluded 17th National Congress of the CPC identified the key strategic position of environmental protection, put the excessive resource and environment cost for economic growth as the top problem faced in the development cause of the Party and the State, regarded the construction of conservation culture as the major content of the new requirements for the target of building a well-off society in full scale, and made comprehensive deployment over the goals, development direction and major measures of environmental protection.

Zhou Jian also pointed out that climate change has exerted ever-growing impact to the ecological environment and production activities of china in recent years. The Chinese government has attached great importance to this issue and made huge efforts in the reduction of GHGs. Starting from this year, it has released and implemented the China National Plan for Coping with Climate Change. China will adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and lay equal emphasis on both mitigation and adaptation. We will make more contribution to addressing climate change with more active attitude through more pragmatic and effective measures.

Minister Zhou noted that China and French share common concerns and targets in the field of environmental protection. He hoped that the two countries can further expand the depth and width of environmental protection cooperation, energetically launch exchange over technology and talents to jointly advance the development of environmental protection.

Mr. Bliss lauded the efforts of China in the arena of environmental protection and expected the two sides to broaden exchange and cooperation and share working experience in this regard in the future.