The U.S.-China Circular Economy Cooperation Forum was successfully held in Beijing

2024-09-11

On September 6, 2024, under the guidance and support of the Circular Economy Sub-Working Group of the China-U.S. Climate Action Working Group, the China Association of Circular Economy (CACE) and The US-China Business Council (USCBC) co-organized the first U.S.-China Circular Economy Cooperation Forum in Beijing. The forum aimed to implement the China-U.S. "The Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis" (The Sunnylands Statement ), and to establish a platform for exchange and cooperation in circular economy for the business community, social organizations, research institutes and other parties in the two countries, and to promote the two countries to reach more pragmatic cooperation results.

Zhao Chenxin, Vice Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)，John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, Liu Zhenmin, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Nicholas Burns, U.S. Ambassador to China, Xie Zhenhua, China's Former Special Envoy for Climate Change and Former Vice Chairman of NDRC attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech，Xie Feng, China's Ambassador to the United States delivers a video speech.

Zhao Chenxin said that climate change is a common cause for all mankind and cannot be separated from the cooperation between the two major countries, China and the United States. The organization of the U.S. -China Circular Economy Cooperation Forum is an important step in the implementation of the ‘The Sunnylands Statement’ and it is another milestone in China-US circular economy cooperation. We hope that the governments, enterprises, research institutes, and think tanks of China and the United States will strengthen policy dialogues, deepen technical exchanges and enhance practical cooperation on circular economy.

John Podesta said that circular economy is an area of common concern between the United States and China, and hoped that representatives from both sides would exchange experiences, discover business opportunities and strengthen cooperation through the forum.

LIU Zhenmin said that China and the United States have extensive common interests in response climate change and promoting the process of global sustainable development, and hoped that the two sides would give full play to their respective advantages and carry out exchanges and mutual understanding and cooperation.

Ambassador Xie said that China and the United States are partners in addressing climate change, and circular economy cooperation can be a growth point. 

Nicholas Burns said that Climate cooperation plays an important role in the China- U.S. relationship, and we are willing to strengthen cooperation with the Chinese government to provide leadership in the global response to climate change.

Xie Zhenhua said that the cooperation between China and the United States on climate benefits both countries and the world, and the circular economy is one of the important areas, hoping that the two sides will continue to deepen their cooperation and contribute more wisdom and strength to the global response to the climate crisis.

After the opening ceremony, a total of 12 guests from both China and the United States delivered keynote speeches, focusing on the development of a circular economy and sharing insights on addressing climate change.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Liu Dechun, Director General of Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection of NDRC, while the keynote speech session was co-hosted by Zhu Liyang, President of CACE, and Noah Fraser, Senior Vice President for China Operations of  USCBC.

In the afternoon, four parallel closed-door meetings were held, during which the participating representatives conducted thorough discussions and exchanges centered around topics such as the contribution of circular economy to greenhouse gas emission reduction, the promotion and application of recycled materials, the management and circular utilization of plastic pollution, and enhancing the value of waste recycling under new business formats and consumption patterns.

Approximately 460 representatives from relevant government departments, enterprises, industry associations, research institutions, and other sectors from both China and the United States attended the forum.