China-ROK Environmental Cooperation Center was officially launched on Jun. 25. MEE Minister Li Ganjie and ROK Minister of Environment Kim Eunkyung presented at the inauguration ceremony in Beijing.

China and ROK have conducted extensive cooperation with fruitful outcomes in the areas of air, water, and soil pollution control, solid waste, environment and health, and environmental technologies, and advanced the improvement of the environmental quality of respective countries, said Li. It is the common understanding of the State leaders of the two countries to set up this Center as the latest outcome of the bilateral environmental cooperation and a major move to close this tie.

The Chinese Government has highly valued the ecological and environmental protection, said Li. The Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization officially identified at last month’s National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection has provided strong ideological guidance and action guide for comprehensively strengthening ecological and environmental protection and sounded the bugle for the tough fight against pollution.

The top priority is the blue sky defense war. The Chinese Government has put in place a three-year action plan to protect the blue sky from air pollution, with an aim to notably bring down PM2.5 level and improve air quality in three years. China will also launch several hallmark battles to control the pollution from diesel-fueled trucks, treat the dark and odorous waters in the urban areas, treat Bohai Sea, protect and restore the Yangtze River, protect the source water, and control the pollution in the agricultural sector and in the rural areas.

Moreover, the country will continue to implement the plan on banning foreign wastes and conducting the institutional reform of the solid waste importation, crack down on the illegal transfer and dumping of solid wastes and hazardous wastes, urge the solid waste incinerators to meet emission standards, and launch the “green shield” nature reserve inspection.

The pollution control initiatives present invaluable opportunity for deepening bilateral environmental cooperation, noted Li. In the future, China-ROK Environmental Cooperation Center should act on the common understandings of the State leaders of the two countries, deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the ecological and environmental sector, and strive to catalyze such cooperation.

Madame Kim spoke highly of the achievements made by the Chinese Government in the ecological and environmental governance and hoped the two sides would keep the cooperation center run smoothly and make new strides in environmental governance.

Counselor with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yang Yu and the economic minister of ROK embassy in China Mr. Baek delivered remarks. China-ROK Environmental Cooperation Center is based at Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, and CRAES Director General Li Haisheng introduced the cooperation center.