SEPA Vice Minister Li Ganjie met in Beijing today with Vice Chairman of German People's Union Party Ms. Katharina Reiche and her retinue. Both sides exchanged views on responses to climate change and renewable energy.

At first, Li Ganjie introduced the country's environmental protection work. He said the Chinese Government has made environmental protection as one of the basic national policies, developed the fundamental strategies for sustainable development, and made the promotion of harmony between mankind and nature as one of the important goals for socio-economic development. Last year, the national congress of 17^th CCPCC placed environmental protection at a more important status, proposed to build ecological culture, and made environmental protection the important part of peaceful development. Since last year, the Government issued a series of policies and measures on energy saving and emissions reduction. Local governments and industries arranged the tasks according to the Integrated Working Plan for Energy Saving and Emissions Reduction and accelerated the implementation, so that progress was made for all tasks. Last year saw the unprecedented declines of the total amounts of the two major pollutants, which made us more resolved to improve the environmental quality.

Mr. Li said Chinese Government has always followed the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" in terms of responses to climate change: developed countries should seriously fulfill the obligation to reduce greenhouse gases and provide supports for technology transfer, while developing countries should insist on the sustainable development strategy on the basis of the respect for rights of living and development, and make due contributions to addressing climate change. Chinese government will contribute more to greenhouse gas reduction with a more positive attitude and more effective measures.

Ms. Katharina Reiche hoped that both sides would communicate and cooperate more in terms of addressing climate change and sustainable energy, in order to promote the development of environmental protection cause.