Recently, Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing, met with Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition of the European Commission.

Yin said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU). Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping had a phone call with António Costa, President of the European Council, during which both sides exchanged congratulatory messages and reached important consensus on deepening China-EU dialogue and cooperation, charting the course for the development of bilateral relations. In recent years, Beijing has strictly implemented the Master Plan of Development for Beijing (2016-2035), actively practiced the philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, and pursued development within the confines of our ecological carrying capacity. The city has explored effective solutions to “big city diseases”, waged determined campaigns against air and water pollution, and accelerated the green and low-carbon transition in the energy and transport sectors. Building upon its development as a forest city and park city, Beijing is now systematically advancing its vision of becoming a garden city. Through all these efforts, the city’s ecological environment has seen historic improvement, achieving synergy between environmental protection and socio-economic development. Beijing is committed to implementing the consensus reached by Chinese and EU leaders. It will continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with relevant institutions of the European Commission and sister cities of EU member states, sharing its experience in ecological and environmental governance, and contributing further to the advancement of China-EU relations.

Ribera spoke highly of Beijing’s recent efforts and achievements in environmental protection. She said that the EU is ready to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between EU cities and Beijing in areas such as air quality improvement, energy transition, and water resource management, thereby jointly tackling climate change for the benefit of humanity.

Also present at the meeting were Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing; Jorge Toledo, Head of the EU Delegation to China; and Zeng Jin, Secretary General of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality.