The thirteenth meeting of the Subcommittee for Environmental Cooperation under the Regular Prime Ministers’ Meeting between China and Russia (hereinafter referred to as the Subcommittee) was held in Moscow of Russia between Sept. 19 and 21. The Chinese Co-chair of the Subcommittee and Minister of MEE Li Ganjie and the Russian Co-chair of the Subcommittee and Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kobylkin headed respective delegations to the meeting.

The two sides shared the major environmental measures taken by the two governments over the past year, reviewed the progress of bilateral environmental cooperation, recognized the important part played by the Subcommittee, and discussed the work plans and future cooperation of the Subcommittee.

In his remarks, Li noted that the Chinese Government has always attached great importance to the ecological and environmental protection. We have stepped up the ecological and environmental protection with unprecedented determination and strength, worked to adopt green growth patterns and lifestyles, and made full-throttled efforts to combat the air, water, and soil pollution. We have struck heavy blows to the air pollution and successfully carried out the action plan on it. We have highlighted the control of water pollution in key water basins and sea areas and boosted the ecosystem conservation and restoration. Furthermore, we have launched central environmental inspections, looked into incompliance cases, highlighted accountability, and notably improved the ecological and environmental quality.
                           
Minister Li put forward the following concrete proposals for further cooperation, a. establish a new framework for pragmatic cooperation, consolidate the fruits of the cooperation in traditional areas, further the cooperation on the treatment of solid wastes, and actively explore all-dimensional cooperation in multiple areas; b. establish green Belt and Road together, invite the Russian side to relevant cooperation initiatives, advance the innovation and cooperation in the areas of environmental management, laws and regulations, and environmental technologies, and under the framework of the connectivity of the Belt and Road initiative and Eurasian Economic Union, share green growth experience and uplift the regional environmental management level; c. work to establish a community of shared future, steer the multilateral cooperation process, enhance coordination and contribute to the regional and global sustainable development.

The meeting heard and deliberated the work reports of three working groups (the pollution control and environmental disaster emergency liaison, the monitoring and protection of transboundary water bodies, and the protection of transboundary nature reserves and biodiversity), as well as the work report on the cooperation in the area of solid wastes. The meeting positively commented the bilateral environmental cooperation over the past year and adopted the 2018-2019 annual work plans of the above said working groups.