The EU Commissioner of the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella (left) and the Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Ganjie (right) Photo: Courtesy of the EU Delegation to China

  

A delegation headed by Karmenu Vella, the EU Commissioner of the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, visited China from April 1 to 3 to deepen China-EU environmental bilateral relations. 

Both sides jointly hosted the 7th China-EU Ministerial Environmental Policy Dialogue and the First Meeting of China-EU Water Policy Dialogue. During his visit, Vella met several Chinese ministers to discuss shared priorities related to water, a circular economy, wildlife, forest protection, the EU-China Ocean Partnership, and the fight against illegal fishing.

Vella said that both the EU and China are facing similar environmental challenges. "Threats to biodiversity, pressure on scarce natural resources, waters and oceans as well as the threat of pollution require strong governance," Vella said. "Together we can better respond to these challenges and we can take the lead globally."

A circular economy is an important political priority both in the EU and in China, which was confirmed in the Memorandum of Understanding on Circular Economy Cooperation that was signed in July 2018. 

Taking into account the experience gained with the implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and the EU Plastic Strategy, leaders discussed how to accelerate bilateral collaboration and support a global transition to a resource-efficient and circular economic model in line with the sustainable development goals.

The Seventh China-EU Ministerial Environmental Policy Dialogue focused on pollution prevention and control, enhancing environmental governance and promoting green growth built on years of technical cooperation and policy exchanges on these issues. Biodiversity was also part of the agenda, in which next year's Biodiversity Summit in China was discussed.

The First Meeting of the China-EU Water Policy Dialogue aimed to deepen the China-EU cooperation on water, allowing partners to exchange information and experience and provide political guidance of the China-Europe Water Platform.